


Love Discovered

by Believer



Series: Love Discovered [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-26
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2019-01-05 17:18:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 36,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12194271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Believer/pseuds/Believer
Summary: A simple love story Penelope Garcia and David Rossi meet at a club and both are instantly attracted, the Garcia at least doesn't want to admit it for she's been hurt in the past. Will Rossi be able to win her over?





	1. Chapter 1

A/N: I don't mind helpful criticism, but if you don't have anything nice to say then I don't want want to hear it. This is not meant to insult anyone, but I've had a few nasty reviews about my stories, not just criticism but words just meant to tear you down and destroy whatever self confidence you have. This isn't reality it's fanfiction! And in fanfiction anything can happen! If you don't like that tough! Absolutely no flames! If you find any major errors send me an email and I'll try to fix them, but if it is just something minor don't bother, as everything fanfiction I've ever read has errors in it. I try to read them several times and get out the most obvious, but I'll be the first to admit that I do miss some. Remember! No flames!

Believer76


	2. Chapter 2

Love Discovered

Part 1

"Can I have this dance beautiful?" asked a voice of a beautiful blond haired lady, with purple framed glasses.

"Are you talking to me handsome?" asked the blond haired lady looking up from her drink in surprise

"Who else would I be talking to?" the handsome man inquired with a smile.

"Well, I don't know, one of those skinny model types over at the bar," the blond haired lady suggested with a half a smile of her own, as she studied the handsome man who had black hair and beard. The man had broad shoulders, was about 5'10' or 11' and also had a slightly olive complexion. "I don't think I'm your type at all."

"What makes you say that?" the man inquired curiously. "You don't know what my type is, since right now we don't even know each other's names."

"Because a handsome man like you and doesn't usually want someone like me," Penelope explained, as if speaking a child. "To most handsome men such as yourself I'm not their type and I'm not going to dance with anyone just because they feel sorry for me."

"And you're going to judge me, just because other men are idiots?" the man asked genuinely outraged. "I never ask anyone to dance just because I feel sorry for them, I promise you, as that tends to lead women like that to getting attached, just because I was nice enough to dance with them. Don't make assumptions, just because most men are like that. Of course, did I not say that most men are idiots?"

The woman felt throughly chastised, because the man was right she had been making assumptions, assumptions that she'd had no right to make. She had assumed that the handsome man had come over here just to be mean to her, to perhaps, have a dance with her and then hurt her feelings when she wanted more, as that had happened more than once in the past, Derek Morgan instantly coming to mind. She and Derek had dated for a few months before she had broken up with him, when she had found him cheating on her. She knew very well that he hadn't even been sorry about it nor did he feel the least bit guilty about having several women on the side, when she had believed it was monogamous relationship. How stupid could she be she wondered? She had believed him when Derek told her that he loved her, but when you loved someone you didn't cheat on them behind their back. She wasn't sure she could ever trust another man with her heart again, even though it was over a year later, since she and Derek had broken up.

"One dance," the woman told him. "I'm not interested in any relationships right now."

"So can I have your name, gorgeous?" the man asked with a charming smile inwardly relieved as he had been sure that this gorgeous woman was going to turn him down.

"Penelope Garcia and what's yours handsome as I just can't call you hey you," Penelope said with a teasing grin.

"David Rossi at your service ma'am," Dave said to the lady in question as he offered her his hand. "You can call me Dave."

"Well, Dave, I'm Penny," Penelope said and Dave's grin grew even wider.

"I actually like your full name," Dave said with a charming smile.

"Almost nobody calls me Penelope, except for my friend JJ when she is especially annoyed with me," Penelope said with a smile, as she thought of her best friend Jennifer Jareau, who always went by her initials.

The two of them walked over to the dance floor and began to dance together.

"So what do you do for a living Dave?" Penelope asked.

"I'm a private investigator," Dave answered honestly. "I was in the FBI for a few years, but decided it just wasn't for me and really a private investigator is about as close as I can get to my old job, except I have my own rules. So Miss Penny, what do you do for a living?"

"I work for a large computer firm," Penelope explained, "and design computer programs on the side."

"Wow! I'm impressed," Dave said sincerely. "I'm assuming you don't work as a secretary."

"No, I don't and it's a good thing, because that kind of job would bore me to tears in no time at all," Penelope said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean there were parts about the FBI that I really loved, but the paperwork wasn't one of them," Dave chuckled.

"Yeah, I know I have to fill out some paperwork to, although not as much as the government seems to require," Penny agreed. "I do love most of my job, but they're are always parts of any job that people aren't going to like."

"Yes, I suppose that's true," Dave said thoughtfully.

Penelope didn't have a chance to reply as the song ended just then.

"Can I at least buy you a drink, Miss Penny?" Dave asked with his most charming smile.

He didn't want to admit that he had been watching Miss Penelope nurse several drinks for over an hour before he had finally approached her. He still wasn't sure what had attracted him to her for he usually dated blond women who were not as anorexic as those model types tended to be, but certainly not as big boned. Perhaps, it was the fact that her whole posture had been totally dejected, even if she likely hadn't realized it, which told him that either she had lost someone close to her or had a bad breakup sometime fairly recently.

"I told you one dance," Penelope demurred.

"So this isn't a dance, just to drink," Dave said logically, but Penelope didn't look impressed.

"What's so special about me? There're plenty of women that would love to have some of your attention," Penelope said gesturing at all the women who were trying not to be obvious as they looked at Dave with lust in their eyes.

"I'm not interested in them," Dave told her, as politely as he could. "Most of them are so bubbleheaded that I lose interest very quickly. Or if they aren't airheads they act that way, which burns off my interest instantly. I'm not denying I've dated a lot of women and also bedded plenty of them, but while most of them were very intelligent they never held my interest for very long. Besides, just because you're intelligent doesn't mean you can't be as shallow as a puddle of water after a Spring rain."

Penelope actually giggled at that description, because she had met plenty of men as well as women like that, who just seemed interested in snagging the perfect man, but didn't seem to have any brains beyond that. Of course, those kind of people were likely intelligent, but they sure didn't act like it if that was the case.

Dave hoped he hadn't ruined his chances, but he had felt strongly that if he wasn't completely honest then Penelope would flip him off with some lame excuse. He could tell just from talking to her for a few minutes that she had been hurt deeply in the past and it had probably been fairly recent. Or it was possible that she had been hurt more than once, because people a lot of times were cruel and thoughtless not caring whom they hurt with their words or their actions.

"Alright then, one drink," Penelope finally agreed, not really as reluctant as she pretended to be.

"So what's your pleasure, my lady?" Dave asked with a massive grin.

"A fuzzy navel," Penelope said.

"Oh, now there's a rather unusual request," Dave said liking Penelope more and more. When Penelope made no comment, Dave added after a moment, "You wait here, my lady, while I go purchase our drinks."

Penelope watched as Dave walked away and how a lot of women couldn't keep their eyes off his handsome form. Dave was indeed drop dead gorgeous and Penelope wondered exactly what she had gotten herself into. Normally, someone as drop dead gorgeous as David Rossi did not ask out somebody like her or if they did it was only to hurt her feelings whether intentionally or not. She sincerely hoped that she wasn't setting herself up to be hurt her again like Derek had. She had stopped dating completely after she broke up with Derek and so she hadn't had sex in awhile, except what she did for herself to relieve the sexual tension. JJ had been urging her to get back into the dating game, but she hadn't wanted to risk having her heart broken again. She had a feeling however, if she'd only let herself, she could fall for David Rossi very easily, but she wasn't about to get too deeply involved until she did an in-depth background check. She had to make sure that he was who he said he was, as she was taking no more chances. Luckily, she was perfectly capable of doing that in-depth background check herself, even if she had to hack into the appropriate systems. It didn't matter that it was against the law she would do it and nobody would ever know that she had been there.

She was good with computers always had been and was much better then most other people and could make him do things that others couldn't. She would find every piece of Dave's dirty laundry before she agreed to date him if he asked. Of course, he might not ask, but she was going to be prepared if he did. Whatever she found would determine whether or not she actually agreed to a date or whether she turned him down flat. She now wished that she had done the same when she had started dating Derek, but she had been stupid and naïve and fallen for his charm, but that was never going to happen again, Penelope swore. Here she was in her early thirties and it wouldn't be many years before she never be able to have a child of her body and she wanted one so bad but she also wanted that child to be born in love and not from a one night stand or even a brief relationship

"Your drink, my lady," Dave said, as he placed a fuzzy navel on the table before her, before he sat down with his drink, a standard scotch.

"Thank you, kind sir," Penelope said, as she saluted him with her drink.

The two chatted cordially, as they enjoy their drinks.

"So can I drive you home or at least call you with cab?" Dave suggested causally. "I wouldn't want you to have an accident just because you're over the legal limit."

"I have a very high tolerance for alcohol," Penelope protested, although she was touched by his genuine concern. "I'll be fine, as I really haven't had that much to drink."

Dave said nothing else, but was determined he was going to follow her home to make sure she arrived safely. He knew that he would have to be careful, because if she knew that he was doing so she would be rightfully furious at him. He wasn't exactly sure why he was so concerned for her safety, just that there was something about her… something that attracted something deep within him. He hadn't felt like this...well ever actually. He had loved Caroline, that was true, but the death of their son had ended their marriage, but also his obsession with his work, which was one of the major reasons he had retired in the first place. He had been so busy catching killers and other criminals that he hadn't put in the work required for any relationship, much less a marriage. As for his second wife Ruth, she was more of a rebound then anything else and their marriage had been very brief.

"Well, if you're sure," Dave said trying to sound uncertain.

"I am, you don't need to worry about me, as I've been taking care of myself for years," Penelope promised.

Dave said nothing else and so the subject was dropped.

The two of them finished their drinks and Penelope said, "I have to go as I have to work in the morning, but it was nice meeting you."

"Before you go..." Dave began.

"I told you I wasn't interested in any relationships right now," Penelope cut him off.

Dave was undeterred, as he was determined to get this gorgeous women to date him. So what if she wasn't as beautiful as some of those models that you saw on TV or in magazines, because it's not like she was the ugly duckling in that children's story. Actually, his opinion was was that Penny was a very gorgeous woman, even if he knew that some of those model types would disagree and even most men, but that'd be only because they were insanely jealous. Besides, it wasn't just the beauty on the outside he was interested in, because he well knew that you could be the most beautiful woman in the world, but have an evil soul that enjoyed causing others pain and heartache due to any number of reasons including vindictiveness. He had truly believed he was in love with a woman by the name of Erin Strauss who he had met on one of his cases years ago. They had both been attracted to each other instantly and fallen into bed together immediately. Big mistake as it had turned out and he had to come to regret that decision. Never again he had sworn would he allow his hormones to dictate what he did.

The two parted, but Dave watched as Penelope left before he followed her, being careful not to be seen.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

Penelope woke slowly and when she became aware of the pounding headache she buried her head in her pillow and groaned.

She never should have drank so much and in fact she was probably lucky that she had gotten home without incident. She checked the time and saw that it was after 11 o'clock and she knew she was very lucky that this was her day off. Of course, she never would have drank to excess if she'd had to work the next day, as she never went into work when she had been drinking so much the night before, mostly because of the aftereffects alcohol tended to have on an empty stomach. She really should've known better than to try to drown her sorrows or at least her regrets.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and she groaned wanting to bury her head in her pillow, but instead she rose and shuffled towards the front door, although she really wanted to tell whoever that was to go away.

"Yes? Can I help you?" Penelope said yawning after she had opened the door. "Do you have the wrong address?" Penelope asked finally noticing the vase of flowers in the deliveryman's arms.

"I don't believe so unless you're not Penelope Garcia," The guy said, as he checked the address on his clipboard.

Penelope stared at the huge vase of flowers that held at least two dozen roses, both red and yellow along with the normal babies breath. Who could be sending her flowers? It wasn't as if roses were cheap after all

"No, I am Penelope Garcia," Penelope finally said.

"Well, if you'll just sign here, I'll just be on my way," the deliveryman said producing his clipboard.

Penelope signed her name on the dotted line and took the flowers from the deliveryman. Once the deliveryman had disappeared into the elevator she shut the door and then put the flowers on the kitchen counter.

Who in the world was sending her roses? Penelope asked herself as she stared at the beautiful arrangement. Well, there should be a card, Penelope thought, as she looked among the arrangement for just that.

Finally she spotted the card that was buried among the beautiful arrangement and removed it.

My beautiful Penny

Thank you for wonderful evening. I am requesting the pleasure of your company for dinner and then the opera tomorrow night, as I have acquired two tickets. Dress is formal. Please say you'll go with me. Call as soon as you have made your decision, as I'll be waiting for your reply.

Affectionately,

David Rossi

And below his signature were three phone numbers and Penelope assumed that one was his cell phone, one was his phone at work and the other was likely his home phone.

Penelope stared at the flowers then at the card. How in the world, had David Rossi found out where she lived? She certainly hadn't given him her address, as she remembered that much.

There was several options as to how Dave had discovered where she lived, Penelope realized after a few seconds, even as her head pounded from the effects of to much alcohol the night before. One was that he'd had a friend of his search her out, as he had known her first and last name after all. Logically however, she knew that he had probably looked her up in the phone book as she was listed.

That he might have followed her home to make sure she got there safely never even entered her mind, although if she'd had a more suspicious nature it definitely would have occurred to her. Of course, her pounding headache wasn't helping.

Should she accept the invitation, Penelope wondered heading for the bathroom where her headache medicine was stored. She admitted that she had enjoyed his company for the brief time they had danced and shared a drink. David Rossi was everything she could possibly want in a boyfriend, he was handsome, charming, quite probably well educated. Of course, one of the downsides was that he was at least a few years older than she was, but really that didn't matter so much in modern day society. She had always been attracted to older men and not just ones who were five years or less, she admitted to herself, so the temptation was strong to accept the offer of a date. She knew that Dave was at least 10 years her senior if she was any judge and that didn't bother her in the least.

Penelope went to her computer and begin typing after she had taken some aspirin for her headache. She had promised herself that she was going to do a background check on David Rossi before she agreed to any date, although she certainly hadn't expected him to send her two dozen roses or request a date the very next day, but then she could also see the logic of doing so. Dave wouldn't have wanted her to forget their time together and if he had waited too long her memory of the pleasant encounter would have faded. If that had happened there was more chance of her turning him down.

That didn't mean that it didn't baffle her as to why he would bother to try to get a date with her when she had told him specifically that she wasn't dating right now she didn't have a clue. She had kept her vow of not dating ever since she and Derek had broken up and she had intended to keep it for she didn't know how long. However, perhaps, it was time to start dating again, as she couldn't avoid the dating scene forever. Alright, technically, she could, but she really wanted to settle down with someone who made her happy, have a few children. She would like at least two, but preferably more than that, but she had never found a man that she would be happy to marry and start a family with. In fact, a lot of men were bastards, with a capital B. She could say the same thing about a lot of women to though, so the issue wasn't entirely one-sided. In other words, people in general could be mean, nasty, arrogant, cruel and thoughtless and so sure of their own superiority, that they didn't care who they hurt. On the other side of the coin though, a lot of people were genuinely caring, helpful, gentle, thoughtful and loving. For some reason though she always seemed to date the bastards and that especially included Derek Morgan, bastard extraordinaire

Penelope continued the background check on David Rossi, her fingers literally flying over the keys, easily hacking into the correct systems not leaving a trace of her presence. She checked everything she could think of and found out that he was indeed a private investigator and was apparently very good at it, because he made a steady income, that was fairly impressive. It seemed he also owned a restaurant named Sophie's and it was doing even better than his private investigator work. Well, David Rossi was more than well-off he was extremely wealthy it seemed, so that made it even more puzzling why someone like him would be interested in someone like her. She made a good living that was true, but she certainly wasn't in his league. However, she knew she could be in his league someday as her computer programs were really beginning to take off, so she could be that wealthy one day she just hadn't reached that goal yet.

Dave had also apparently been married a couple of times Caroline being his first wife and then a woman named Ruth, but no children, except for a son who had died a few days after he had been born, which made her wince in sympathy. Losing his son must have devastated him.

Penelope finally finished her background check and sat back in thought. She knew very well that there was only so much she could find out from a background check, as some things were simply unknowable until you got to know the person, because some things you just wouldn't find on any computer system. What she had found wasn't all good, but it wasn't all bad either. Dave had been married a couple of times before, but hadn't managed to maintain either relationship and that made her bite her lip thoughtfully. She assumed that Caroline had at the time been the love of his life and she wouldn't be surprised at all if the marriage had broken up because of the death of their son, since that happened all the time. As for Ruth, she had likely been a rebound as it was a little more than a year later and ended incredibly quickly.

The question became was she willing to take the chance? His background was clean when it came to criminal records and there were no sealed files with his name on it, which meant he was likely a solid citizen and had never been in trouble with the law, as he didn't even have a speeding ticket.

Penelope continued to ponder Dave's offer all day as she cleaned her apartment, did her laundry and generally just puttered around.

Finally the chance to go to the opera made her decision for her, as she had always wanted to go but had never managed it. However, she would see how this date went before she agreed to any others. If it went as well as she hoped she would be willing to accept a second one, but she wasn't about to get her hopes up.

Penelope was determined not to call Dave until the very last minute, even if she knew that would be rude. It wouldn't do him any harm to make him wait at least until tomorrow afternoon. She was sure that Dave was nervous that she wouldn't accept his offer of a date, but she also didn't want to give him too much warning. Well, not until she knew more about him, as she wasn't about to have her heart broken again. She was going to have to be very cautious for awhile. If Dave was anything like Derek, then she'd be gone so fast out of his life that he would think she had simply vanished into thin air and if he did push the issue she would have a restraining order out on him before he could blink.

Well, that was for the future, right now she needed to go shopping for a new dinner dress that was appropriate for the opera as well.

Penelope whistled cheerfully, as she collected her purse and coat before heading out the door. She couldn't wait to tell JJ about this and she knew that her friend would be thrilled for her. JJ was a good friend to her and had agreed that Derek was indeed a grade A bastard. Unfortunately, a lot of men did not only cheat on their girlfriends, but also their fiancés or wives, so it wasn't like it was unusual, but it still hurt everytime when it happened. However, if she was going to get close to someone and perhaps, marry them they had better be loyal to her or the relationship was going be over and that was that. Some women might take a man back if they cheated on her, but she wasn't one of them. If she was going to love someone she wanted their love in return and for them to be loyal to her just as she would be to them. Really, she didn't think she was asking too much and JJ agreed with her on that point, as she wanted someone that would love her for herself and not try to change or cheat on her behind her back. Unfortunately, neither she or JJ had been very lucky at finding love and both had had boyfriends in the past that had cheated on them practically before the relationship had begun, which might explain why they were best friends because they shared some of the same experiences.

Both of them wanted the same thing for each other and that was to find someone that they could love wholeheartedly without worrying about their husbands two-timing them. Unfortunately, such a thing wasn't exactly easy to find considering human nature. She wasn't saying it didn't exist, because she knew it did, but finding something so rare was another matter altogether.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

No flames, though I love reviews


	3. Chapter 3

Part 2

"You're actually going out on a date?" JJ questioned her friend in astonishment. "Has the moon suddenly fallen from the sky and I didn't notice?"

"Don't exaggerate," Penelope giggled.

"I'm not," JJ told her. "You let that no good son of a bitch affect you for way too long. Yes, I understood that you were hurt and I definitely sympathized with you, but you should've gotten back into the dating arena much sooner if only to prove that, that bastard was wrong about you."

"I suppose so," Penelope admitted. "I should've seen the signs I admit. I was just so deeply hurt by his actions and also felt very foolish that I hadn't seen the signs that he was cheating on me."

"He was very good at hiding his sidepiece," JJ said, "as I didn't suspect either. But really all that means is the fact that Derek fucking Morgan likely has never been loyal to any woman he's dated not just you. I don't believe he'd be able to hide his sidepiece so well unless he's done it in the past and probably since he started dating."

"Yeah, I know," Penelope admitted.

"Still, I'm glad you're finally getting over Derek Morgan, as you deserve a man that thinks the world of you and who knows this David Rossi might be the one," JJ said.

"Maybe," Penelope said cautiously. "I've only agreed to one date with him and I'll see how that one goes before I'll agree to another. If I even suspect that he is cheating on me, well, I'll be out of there like a rat escaping down the sewer. I guarantee you that he won't know what hit him."

"Don't go borrowing trouble," JJ warned her friend sternly. "Yes, you have every right to be cautious, I'm not denying that, on the contrary. However, you need to give him a chance and don't break up with him just because you fear that he's cheating on you. He could be just as much a bastard as Derek is or he could be the genuine deal."

"I'll give him a chance, but that's all I can promise," Penelope said.

"That's all anyone can really expect, considering your history with relationships," JJ said. "Of course, I haven't had anymore luck then you have when it comes to finding love, but at least I haven't been hurt so bad emotionally. Believe me, I truly wish I could have saved you that pain."

"Yeah, me too, as I wouldn't want anybody to go through it," Penelope said. "On the other hand, it also taught me a lesson about being more cautious with my heart, even if it's a lesson I could've done without."

"I think anybody could do without that type of lesson," JJ sympathized.

"Unfortunately, you can't close yourself off from life or human contact, as that just makes a person bitter," Penelope said.

"No, you would deny yourself so many things if you did that finding love for example," JJ said. "Besides, you're too much of a people person to really do that no matter how much you've been hurt. Some people might be alright all by themselves with limited human contact, but that's definitely not you. No, you'd only drive yourself insane if you only went to work and came home."

"Actually I don't really need to work, as I have plenty of money, which is still rolling in thanks to those computer programs I wrote, but still I understand what you're saying," said Penelope.

"I suspect that you'll be a millionaire probably in a couple years," JJ said.

"It doesn't matter," Penelope shrugged. "I'm not the greedy type and so long as I have enough to live on than I'm happy. Of course, I'm not denying, it's also nice to be able to buy the newest purse without having to spend all of one paycheck or at least or a huge chunk of it."

"And also as many pairs of shoes as you want," JJ giggled.

"Yep," Penelope grinned. "Or anything else I want, not just necessarily need. We'll have to go shopping sometime in the near future just you and me."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," JJ agreed grinning. "Just let me know in advance, so I can get a babysitter for Henry."

Henry Jareau was JJ's son, the result of a relationship that had lasted for over six months. The father Will LaMontagne, knew nothing about his son and considering that he had just abandoned JJ she had no intention of informing him. Penelope for her part agreed with JJ's decision and that Will didn't deserve to know that he had a son.

"So how is my godson?"

"Oh, he's fine and growing like a weed," JJ grinned. "You'll have to come by and visit soon."

"I will, as it's been too long since I've seen him," Penelope said.

"He misses you and is always asking about his Aunt Penny," JJ told Penelope.

"I miss him too," Penelope promised. "However, I don't want to insult you or anything, but I can't help but imagine having a child of my own whenever I see him."

"I know it's difficult," JJ said, "but Henry's too young to understand why you don't visit more often."

"I'll do better," Penelope promised. "I'll come and see him sometime in the next couple of days, maybe take him to the park."

"That would be splendid," JJ said pleased. "Henry really looks forward to your visits."

"You just want to get me out of my melancholy mood," Penelope accused her half seriously.

"Well, you have to admit that you haven't really been yourself ever since your break up with that son of a bitch Derek Morgan. You've been sadder, less cheerful and bubbly and I want to see the old Penelope Garcia return. I want to see you put your break up with that bastard behind you completely, to where you never think about him again and what might have been."

"I've been cheerful and bubbly," Penelope protested, knowing it wasn't true and that she wasn't fooling JJ in the least.

"You've been acting cheerful and bubbly," JJ corrected. "Trust me, I can tell that you've been forcing yourself to be like you normally are. You're still dwelling too much on him and you need to stop thinking about him totally if you ever want to get back to how you were before."

"What about you? You had a pretty bad break up with Will," Penelope said trying to get the conversation off Derek Morgan.

"Yes I did, but it wasn't as dramatic, and also my heart wasn't involved like yours was with Derek. I liked Will a lot and I might even have been beginning to fall in love with him, so my heart was bent rather then broken when we did part ways. It's much easier to get over something like that then if it's broken because you truly love someone. Personally, if this David Rossi can bring back your normal cheerful and bubbly personality then I'll support the two of you."

"He's older," Penelope pointed out.

"So what," JJ shrugged. "10 years or so really doesn't matter, as women get together with older man all the time and a lot of times they're much older than a mere decade."

"It's actually 12," Penelope said.

"You ran a background check on him didn't you," JJ accused her.

Penelope didn't answer but looked down and that was answer enough.

"I suppose I can't really blame you considering," JJ admitted after a moment.

"I wasn't going to take the chance that he was anything like Derek," Penelope said finally looking up.

"So what did you find out?" JJ asked, curious.

"Well, let's see he's a private investigator and fairly successful," Penelope began. "He also owns a restaurant named Sophie's and it's also very successful, even more so then his private investigative business. He is extremely wealthy, although he didn't mention that when we first met at that club I liked to go to, so apparently unlike a lot of people he doesn't like to brag about how rich he is. He's been married twice, although his first marriage lasted the longest and I figure the second one was a rebound, as it happened only a little bit over a year later. That one didn't last very long at all. There's only so much you can find out from a computer though, so I'll have to see what he's really like."

Penelope didn't mention how Dave had lost his son, as it was a very private thing and it was bad enough that she knew because she hacked into his life. Now if he had chosen to tell her it would have been one thing and he might decide to do that at some point, but until then she wouldn't bring it up, because Dave had as much right to privacy as she or JJ did.

"So no criminal record?" JJ asked.

"No, he has no criminal record and there are no sealed files with his name on it either, so he doesn't have a juvenile record either. On the other hand though, a lot of stuff never made it to computer and he's old enough that computers were barely realized at the time he was a child. Or the very least most police stations didn't have that type of thing and they definitely didn't store their files on computer back then," Penelope said.

"Don't exaggerate, Penny there were computers back when Dave was born, although I admit that they weren't used for recoding information on cases at least until the 80s and 90s, depending on where he grew up of course, as small towns are slow to update with the newest technology. Of course, money was also often a big factor," JJ said.

"Alright, maybe I was exaggerating a little," Penelope admitted. "Besides computers have changed a lot from when they were first created and they were much bigger and bulkier back then too and laptops didn't exist yet. They also couldn't hold as much information, as they can now or do all the other things that the ones today can."

"Quit changing the subject and making excuses, to not get involved with David Rossi, Penny," JJ told her friend firmly, stopping her before she could go off on a tangent about computers, which was something she was really passionate about. Penelope Garcia could talk for hours about computers and other technology and once she got started it was very hard to get her to stop, so JJ cut her off at the pass. "You're going to go on this date with this David and you're going to enjoy yourself. You will enjoy yourself so much that you're going to accept another date from him unless he does something that makes you break it off. However, it had better be for a legit reason and not an excuse you made up, just because you're afraid of being hurt again. Do we understand each other, Penelope Garcia?"

"I wouldn't do that," Penelope protested automatically, but knowing that she probably would, just so she could say she had tried to date, but it hadn't worked out.

JJ simply stared at her crossing her arms and tapping a foot on the floor until Penelope lowered her head, not able to stare into her friend's accusing eyes for long, most because she knew JJ was right.

"Alright, I probably would," Penelope finally admitted.

"You will give this a fair chance, if after say a dozen dates you can honestly say that you aren't attracted to him and you want to break it off then I won't say anything, because you would've honestly tried. If you break it off before then unless something drastic happens you're going to be in very big trouble. Do we understand each other?" JJ demanded her expression firm.

Penelope nodded, knowing that JJ's form of revenge could be very unique and she'd rather not experience it for herself. She knew that this was JJ's way of telling her that she had to give this guy an honest chance to prove himself and not break it off after a couple of dates.

"Good," JJ said relaxing. JJ tactfully changed the subject figuring that she'd given her friend enough to think about, so they spent the next couple of hours just chatting about girl things and avoiding the elephant in the room.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"I'm so glad you accepted my invitation," Dave said, as he kissed the back of Penelope's hand causing her to blush. "I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't."

"I don't really know why you sent me those beautiful roses or why you asked me out on a date when I told you I wasn't interested in relationships right now," Penelope told him.

"Let's just say that you intrigue me, and I want to get to know you better," Dave said honestly. "I knew it was possible that you wouldn't accept my offer of a date and turn me down. If you had, well, I would've left you alone, but I'm certainly glad that you accepted."

"I had to think long and hard about whether or not to accept your offer," Penelope admitted not telling him why she'd had to do so.

Dave looked curious, but to his credit he didn't ask and Penelope mentally added a point in his favor in her head. Apparently he might be curious, but he was polite enough not to ask why she had to think long and hard about accepting his offer of a date.

"Did I mention you look gorgeous?" Dave said instead of obviously asking the question that he wanted to.

"Thank you," Penelope said blushing at the compliment, once she was sure that Dave was being sincere and not just saying the words.

"You're welcome," Dave said smiling at her. "Well, shall we go, my lady? Our reservations are for the 5:30," Dave said after a moment, offering her his arm gallantly, which Penelope took while thinking that Dave appeared to be a gentleman. A rather refreshing change from her previous boyfriends.

"Nice car," Penelope whistled softly, as Dave escorted her to a very nice Ferrari in black. "I think you don't do your private investigator work in this as it would be way too noticeable. Especially if you're following someone."

"No, I don't use this in my detective work," Dave agreed. "I have a much less noticeable car for when I'm tailing someone. Besides, there is also such thing as delegating and I do have several employees, that are very good at tailing a suspect."

"So it's not just a one man operation then," Penelope said looking genuinely interested.

"Oh, it was when I first started out, but I have several employees now, because to tell you the truth I have other things to do and while I enjoy the intrigue and bringing even minor criminals to justice, I doubt I would enjoy it if I did it 24/7. Besides, everyone needs time for a private life and if I had stayed in the FBI for instance, well, there wasn't much time for a personal life, as it seemed I was always working."

"Sounds rather stressful," Penelope decided.

"It could be," Dave said, "and unfortunately, some departments, well, you have to work overtime a lot of times, because it's not like criminals take a holiday. That's one reason my marriage to Caroline broke up you know. It was because I was working all the time or that was the way it seemed. Even when I was home, I realize now, that I didn't pay enough attention, as my mind always seemed to be on whatever case my department was working on. I was extremely young and foolish back then and because I was Caroline demanded a divorce after the death of our son James. Of course, I realize now that things were already going downhill, but that's from perspective of years."

"People can get caught up in everyday life or work and forget what's most important to them," Penelope said, realizing that Dave was confiding in her something that was probably still very painful for him, even after all these years. She briefly wondered why he was, as he seemed like the type to keep that kind of thing private, since it was bound to be very painful for him to remember the death of his son and his divorce from his first wife.

"That's the truth," Dave said fervently. "I swore to myself that if I ever found another woman that I could love with my whole heart that I wouldn't let life get in the way of us keeping the common ground that is necessary to any relationship, especially a marriage. That we would talk to each other about our day, that I wouldn't forget our anniversary or her birthday. I realized that after the break up with Caroline that these things are necessary just to let your significant other know that you care. That's one of the reasons that I quit the FBI you know, because it's not exactly very easy to find a woman that you want to marry, much less maintain a relationship if you're always working."

"Well, as sorry as I am about Caroline I believe you said her name was, we live and learn and sometimes it takes us decades to learn what's most important," Penelope said.

"You sound as if you're speaking from experience," Dave said looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"My experience isn't quite same as I've never been married," Penelope said. "However, I did date this guy and I thought he was the one, you know? I thought that here is a man I can settle down with have a few children. I fell in love with him, truly in love and I thought he felt the same."

"But you found out he was cheating on you," Dave finished when Penelope didn't continue.

"Yes," Penelope said softly, as she looked out the window watching as a scenery whizzed by. "I still can't believe I didn't see the signs, but I found out that he'd been cheating on me, even before we started dating. Apparently I was just another notch on his belt. What makes it even worse is he didn't even feel the slightest bit guilty or show the slightest bit of remorse for his actions. I suppose I should have expected it."

"And why should you have expected it?" Dave asked his tone calm, although on the inside he was raging. "No one deserves to be treated like that. The right thing to do would be to break it off before you start dating someone else, not cheat on you behind your back. Caroline and I might have gotten divorced, mostly because I always seemed to be working, but I never once cheated on her in all the years we were married. No, the proper thing to do was to break up with you before he started dating anyone else, even if they had already met and were interested in each other. You might still have been hurt, but it would've been easier to get over it instead of this guy pulling the wool over your eyes for a long time. In fact, I hope you don't take offense but he sounds like a right bastard."

"With a capable B," Penelope giggled glad that Dave was taken in news so well. But then again he was older than she was and I so had experiences that she didn't. "JJ and I have been saying basically the same thing ever since the two of us broke up. I wish I had known in advance that he was such up bastard, as I allowed myself to fall in love with him and believe that we'd get married, have a few children. Really though he was nothing more than a playboy who wasn't interested in settling down, having a family."

"Unfortunately, that kind of thing happens all the time," Dave said truly sympathetic. "I'm afraid that a lot of times people just don't see the signs that they're being cheated on either because they don't want to."

"Or because they're totally oblivious to caught up in their own lives," Penelope finished.

"Yes," Dave said smiling at his date briefly before turning back to the road. "Of course, it's also possible that the other half of the couple is also cheating as it might not be totally one-sided."

"Unfortunately, that's all too common," Penelope agreed looking sad, but thoughtful. "If I ever do settle down I want whoever I marry to be loyal to me and not cheat on me behind my back, even if I know very well that's a hard thing to find in today's society."

"I now understand why he were so reluctant to go out on a date with me," Dave told her after a few minutes of silence. "What that guy did you was wrong in every sense of the word, and you were likely hurt very deeply by his actions. You truly believed that you had something special only for it to turn out that he was two-timing you from the very beginning. Anybody would be hurt by what happened, so you're not alone, as it is an all too common scenario. Of course, some people are affected more deeply than others would be, but that's just part of human nature depending on the person. I hope I can prove my good intentions, as I would like us to have more than this one night. Our relationship might not go anywhere, but how do we know unless we try?"

"We'll see," was all Penelope said, but still Dave looked hopeful, so Penelope figured that he had decided to take her nonanswer in a positive light.

Penelope didn't say anything, but she was beginning to hope that this relationship would not be as bad as the one with Derek. However, she would just have to wait and see, as this was only their first date after all.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

Penelope sipped her soup appreciatively and found that it was delicious. It certainly had Campbell's beat all hollow, but then soup that came in a can just couldn't compare to homemade and she was well aware of it. She and Dave had been sat at a table over in a corner and it managed to be both private and intimate at the same time thanks to the candle on the table and the low lighting. Also they could view the other diners if they wanted to people watch without too much trouble, but tonight they just concentrated on each other.

"Well, this is some place you brought me to," Penelope said looking around at the chandeliers on the ceiling and the quiet elegance of the rest of the restaurant. "I don't know how you managed to get a reservation for this place on such short notice. I've heard it's very popular."

"The owner is an old friend. He hired me awhile back," Dave explained. "He was happy to reserve me a table for the time I wanted, because I helped him out so much at a very bad time in his life."

Penelope didn't ask for details, because she knew that just like with any private firm the details were confidential.

"It's very useful to have friends in the appropriate places," Penelope said and Dave grinned.

"Definitely," Dave agreed. "I've made a lot of useful connections in my years as a detective. Of course, a lot of those connections come from my days in the FBI, but still I've made more in the last five years or so."

Penelope didn't say anything, but she knew that Dave had started his own detective agency approximately five years ago and he had opened Sophie's years before that.

"So why don't you tell me what you do for the computer company you work for," Dave suggested.

"Oh, you better not get me started," Penelope teased him. "JJ could tell you that I could talk about electronics, computers in particular for hours."

"You're going to have to tell me about this JJ you keep mentioning," Dave said refusing to be jealous, as JJ might very well not be a man or if he was he was probably just a good friend. But for all he knew this JJ might have a crush on Penny, and just hadn't admitted his feelings, so he wanted details. However, he knew he had to be careful, because he could offend his date and she might not agree to go out with him again if he tried to come between JJ and her.

"I'm sure you'll love her," Penelope said and Dave relaxed infinitesimally when he heard that JJ was female. "We've been friends for a long time. Her full name is Jennifer Jareau, but she always goes by JJ. She told me it was just a nickname she picked up in high school and it stuck. Nowadays she seems to prefer it to her real name as nobody calls her Jennifer or Jenny or any other variation of the name. Unlike me, she didn't grow up in California, she came here for a job interview and just never left. We both met at our favorite coffee shop and got to talking. We became best friends in that couple of hours. She has been my rock after of the bad break up with that guy I mentioned."

"I'd love to meet her sometime," Dave said sincerely.

"You will, as you won't be able to stop it, as there is no way she'll allow me to be hurt again like that other guy did. She might seem all sweet and lovable, but she wanted to tear the guy that hurt me so badly into teeny tiny bits. Believe me, she has a temper on her and I had to calm her down before she did something that landed her in prison."

"She wouldn't really have beat the guy up would she?" Dave asked wondering why Penelope refused to give him the guy's name.

"I was devastated by what happened, as I hadn't seen the signs and JJ hurt right along with me, because we're really sisters in every way. She had a similar experience, except that she wasn't totally in love with the guy when they broke up so she got over it easier. She didn't find out she was pregnant until afterwards, but now Henry's the light of her life and I love him to, as he's my godson. Of course, even if he wasn't I would still love him to death."

"But JJ trusting you with the responsibility, as godmother makes the relationship, even more special," Dave suggested shrewdly.

"Yes, it really does, because JJ didn't name a Godfather and I know that he'll come to me if anything should happen to his mother. It's not that I'm expecting anything, but still this means that JJ trusts me to do right by her son. She knows I love Henry just as much as she does."

"It is an honor," Dave agreed solemnly.

"So why don't you tell me about your work, what details you can share any way since I know a lot of it is confidential," Penelope suggested changing the subject.

Dave happily changed the subject and talked about his investigative work. He was glad that Penny understood that there was just some details he couldn't discuss unless he wanted to reveal the identity of his clients and that was a big no-no. Of course, if she actually worked with him as a secretary or something it would be different, because all his employees had to sign confidentiality agreements, in order to protect his clients privacy, which was one reason why he was sought after and another was that he usually always solved the case.

"I'm not actually sure if JJ would have gone and done something that she regretted later to that guy, but you never know when her tempers up. She doesn't get mad very easily, as she is usually pretty even-tempered, but when one of her friends is as seriously hurt as I was that's one show way I know to do it. At the very least she would've slapped him silly and while it would have been deserved it's just better that she didn't, as it's very possible that there would have been a police report filed, even if nothing came of it. In any case, the big break up taught me a harsh lesson about being more careful with who I agree to date," said Penelope once Dave had finished telling her all about his work, as the subject that they had been discussing previously still on her mind. Dave was surprised at the change in subject back to what it was before he had started talking about his detective work, but went along with it, since it was still apparently on his date's mind.

"As I said in the car I now understand better why you didn't let me ask for a date," Dave said, as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze under the table. "And by the way, I seriously doubt that this guy that hurt you would have gone to the police if JJ had actually slapped him or even punched him in the nose, as alpha males like him don't like to do that kind of thing."

"Probably," Penelope shrugged. "Still, why risk it?"

The two of them enjoyed their dinner, talking quietly, getting to know each other before Dave looked at his watch and knew they had to go if they were going to make the opera.

Dave waved the waiter over and asked for the check.

"We need to hurry if we're going to make the opera," Dave told Penelope who nodded.

"I'm looking forward to it, as I've never been," Penelope said.

"I think you'll enjoy it and if you don't we won't go again," Dave grinned.

"I'll probably will enjoy it, as I've always wanted to go, but I just never did," Penelope said. "Life just got too busy and I didn't want to go by myself anyway. And I just never had a boyfriend that was interested in that kind of thing."

"Yes, we deny ourselves so many opportunities just because life gets so busy," Dave agreed.

"By the way, I wanted to thank you for the beautiful roses you sent me. They're absolutely lovely," Penelope said.

"Not as lovely as you are," Dave said sincerely and Penelope blushed. She had never received so many compliments, as she had from Dave, especially in one night and the thing was she could tell he was being very sincere and not just saying the words without meaning them, which definitely put Dave in her good books. Penelope began to dream a little about a future with Dave, but she was still going to be very cautious until she was sure of his intentions and she knew that Dave understood. Of course, there was some advantages to dating an older man, as they'd had a chance to mature, even if that wasn't true a lot of them. She was so glad she had let JJ talk her into giving Dave a chance. JJ had been right again she was having a wonderful time and hopefully, that trend would continue, but she'd wait and see. She was aware that one date really didn't tell her anything about his character and that would take multiple ones, because people could be on their best behavior for awhile before they relaxed and changed back to their true personalities. She suspected that wouldn't happen with Dave, but still she had every right to be cautious.

"Your check sir," the waiter said returning before Penelope could think of a suitable reply.

"Thank you," Dave said handing over his credit card

"The meal was superb," Penelope told the waiter sincerely with a dazzling smile

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, ma'am. Hopefully, you'll come again and try some of our other entrées."

"We'll be back," Dave spoke confidently and Penelope shot him a look, along with a raised eyebrow, as if to ask how he could be so sure, because they might not be dating anymore in a few weeks.

Dave simply looked innocently back at her and Penelope rolled her eyes. Well, she supposed that he had every right to be confident about their continued relationship and at least he wasn't arrogant about it.

The waiter took the credit card and disappeared.

"We might not be dating in a few weeks you know," Penelope told Dave once the waiter had left.

"I think we will be," Dave told Penelope confidently.

Penelope didn't say so, but she definitely didn't share his confidence that they wouldn't break up after a month or so, but she said nothing.

Dave knew that his date had major doubts that they would still be seeing each other a few weeks from now, but he was falling in love with her and he had never imagined that it would happen to him, not in a million years. He was going to do everything in his power to make her see that he was the one for her. However, he realized that this was only their first date and it was way too early in the relationship to be even thinking about such things, so he said nothing.

The waiter came back with his credit card and Dave put it into his wallet, before he rose offering Penelope his hand.

"My lady, shall we go?" Dave asked politely.

"Yes, we shall, kind sir," Penelope said, as she took his offered hand and rose to her feet.

The two of them walked out of the restaurant arm in arm, seemingly enchanted with each other.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

Reviews welcome! No flames


	4. Chapter 4

Part 3

"Thank you, for dinner and taking me to the opera," Penelope told Dave kissing his cheek.

"It was my pleasure," Dave promised her giving the back of her hand a kiss, even if he really wanted to be her lips instead, but thought that might be pushing it. "I'm glad you had such a good time. I'm hoping that you had such a good time that you'll agree to a second date."

"I really enjoyed myself, so the answer is yes," Penelope said and Dave immediately beamed a smile at her happy with her quick response, which caused a rather hormonal reaction down in Penelope pussy, as Dave's smile was absolutely blinding.

"I'll call you then if you'll just give me your number," Dave suggested.

"You can always look it up in the phone book after all I'm sure that's how you found my address to send me those gorgeous roses," Penelope teased him, but still did so and she watched as he immediately put it into his cell phone. "I'm surprised that you just didn't put my number into your phone when you looked up my address in the phonebook."

"Let's just say I was distracted," Dave said not telling her the real reason. The real reason he hadn't had her phone number was that he had never thought about looking up in the phonebook and instead he had just followed her home make sure she got there safely. He had no intention of ever telling her that little piece of information, as he didn't want her to be mad at him for following her and believing that she couldn't take care of herself. Looking in the phonebook for her address and phone number had not actually occurred to him and it should have, but then so many peoples home numbers were unlisted nowadays, that was likely the reason that he had never thought of it.

He knew that if Penny had a more suspicious nature, she would have suspected that he had simply followed her home. Luckily, even despite her being hurt by that guy, which he still didn't know the name of, she didn't really have a very suspicious nature, even if she was more cautious because of what had happened to her.

"I just bet you were," Penelope giggled. "I bet you were worried that I would turn you down."

"Yes, I was, and I'm certainly glad that you did not," Dave said. "I had a great time too, just in case, you were worried about that. I really enjoyed your company."

"That's obvious, because I can't see you asking for a second date if you didn't enjoy yourself," Penelope teased him.

Dave didn't answer simply kissed her cheek causing Penelope to blush, which he could tell even in the dark, because the moon was bright and there was plenty of light to see by between it and the streetlights.

"I better let you go, before I do something I will regret," Dave said, as he was becoming more aroused then he liked to admit. He hadn't had this kind of hormonal reaction to a woman ever since he had been a young man and he was in his 40s now.

"Call me," Penelope commanded and Dave nodded with a grin.

"I will," Dave promised smiling. "I'll call you tomorrow, but I'm going to be busy for a few days, so we'll have to wait for our date."

"You have a job and I have mine, so that's fine," Penelope said. "I can't expect to see you every minute of every day ,since we both have our own lives."

Dave got out of the car and walked around to Penelope side opening her door for her.

My lady, I'm very much looking forward to our next date."

"So am I," Penelope promised him sincerely. "Really I enjoyed myself more than I expected to tonight."

"What you expected me to be a lousy date?" Dave teased her.

"No, I simply expected that you would want sex for taking me out to dinner and the opera," Penelope told him bluntly. "A lot of men would you know. A lot of them expect to be rewarded for taking a women someplace, even if it was only the first date."

"You're right," Dave acknowledged then promised. "I will never push you into anything you're not ready for. When you're ready to take that step let me know and I'll be happy to oblige you, but until then I won't pressure you and that's a promise."

Penelope felt tears come to her eyes at Dave words, but she managed to hold them back. Dave was so different from Derek it was unreal. Derek had been demanding that they have sex after just a couple of dates and she has been nowhere near ready to take that step. She was actually surprised that they had dated so long, since Derek had been so impatient and when they had finally taken that step it had been about a month later. She wasn't saying that Derek wasn't a good lover as he had been excellent. On the other hand, she didn't like how he demanded sex after every date, something she had been unwilling to give him until they got to know each other better. Finally though she had given in and had never felt right about it, but Derek's persistence had worn her down. She had often wondered if he would've cheated on her if she hadn't been so stubborn about having sex with him, but JJ had set her straight on that score right after she had told her friend her thoughts. JJ had told her that him trying to force her into having sex that she wasn't ready for did not give him the right to cheat on her with women who had no such morals. JJ had also told her that in all likelihood Derek still would've cheated on her, even if she had given in and that had made her feel better, as she knew her friend was right.

In any case, those days were over now and she would never allow herself to be used like that again, which was something she had promised herself after she and Derek had broken up.

"I'll just walk you to your door shall I and then I'll head home," Dave said, as he took Penelope's hand in his own.

"You're such a gentleman," Penelope teased him, although she was serious as well.

"That's how my mama raised me to be," Dave said, as he proudly escorted Penelope into her apartment building. "She's been dead for years, but I still remember all the lessons she taught me when I was a child."

"Well, your mama certainly raised you right," Penelope said. "Or at least you took your parents lessons to heart."

"What you're not saying is that so many people don't take their parents lessons to heart and act how they choose," Dave said, easily reading the subtext.

"Or sometimes parents don't raise their children right, which seems to happen more often in this day and age," Penelope shrugged.

"More distractions or chances of falling in with a bad crowd," Dave observed. "There are many more ways to get away from home then when I was young or as many things to distract yourself with. We had computers, but they were big and bulky and really expensive."

"And they also didn't do as much I have as much memory, RAM or speed," Penelope said.

"Yeah, I know, even if I don't really keep up with the advances in technology, as it's not really my interest, although it does come in handy on occasion. Of course, I grew up in the suburbs and not in the city and that helped me avoid the gangs and other bad influences," Dave said.

"I suppose I can understand that you didn't really grow up in the computer age," Penelope said, as Dave escorted her to her apartment door.

"I hope you don't mind the age difference, because it's not like it's only five years," Dave said just a little anxiously.

"No, I don't," Penelope said shaking her head. "The difference in our ages doesn't bother me, because I never would have agreed to date you at all if it did. JJ reminded me just recently that women marry older man all the time or at least date them and most people don't think anything of it. The few that do mind will probably keep their thoughts of disapproval to themselves, since it's none of their business."

"You're right, it's not really unusual to find an older man with a younger woman," Dave agreed relieved. "Most people probably won't even notice, because a lot of times a woman or even a man look younger than they really are. Here you are, my lady."

Penelope took out her key and unlocked her door. "I'll see you sometime in the next few days," Penelope told him.

"You will," Dave promised, as he watched, as she entered her apartment shutting the door firmly behind her.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"So how did it go?" JJ demanded, as soon as she entered her friend's apartment.

"What? No hello? Or how are you?" Penelope teased her and JJ rolled her eyes, but knew her friend was right

"Alright, fine," JJ said in good humor shoving her impatience to know how Penelope's date had gone down. "Hello, how was work?"

Penelope giggled at that, because the tone in her friend's voice was rather impatient. She know that JJ had her best interest in mind and that she did tend to have little patience for social niceties when she really wanted to know something. Even if that only tended to happen with her.

"Work was fine, except for the one guy that is being a annoyingly persistent," Penelope sighed.

JJ had already heard all about Kevin Lynch and how he kept asking her friend out on a date, even when she had turned him down at least a dozen times already and as Penelope said he was being annoyingly persistent.

"He still hasn't given up, huh?" JJ asked and Penelope shook her head.

"No, he hasn't and I've told him that I'm not interested in going out or date with him at least 50 times by now."

"Don't exaggerate," JJ chided her friend gently.

"Alright, it just just seems like that many," Penelope corrected with a straight face.

"That's better," JJ said, before both woman burst into giggles

"And as for my date..." Penelope said as soon as she was done laughing. "You were right it went splendidly and I really enjoyed myself. Dinner was absolutely wonderful, as Dave managed to get us a table at this exclusive restaurant, even though he didn't have much warning. And the opera afterwards...Absolutely magnificent! I could really learn to like the opera."

"And Dave?" JJ asked.

Penelope knew what her friend was asking, so she answered as honestly as possible. "Dave was ever the gentleman. He opened any door for me, took my arm whenever we were walking somewhere. He's a good conversationalist and he just doesn't talk about himself like Derek used to do. He's a good listener to and actually listened when I talked and asked intelligent questions. He was also honest and told me that technology wasn't really his thing and didn't keep up with the newest advancements in the field. However, since we seem to share plenty of other interests that doesn't matter very much. Also as far as I'm concerned and a big bonus point in his favor is he didn't try to force me into having sex with him, nor did he even mention it. He promised me that he wouldn't push me and told me that when I was ready to take that step to tell him, as he'd be happy to oblige me, but he would never force the issue."

"See there are some advantages to dating an older man," JJ told her, trying not to sound smug.

"Go ahead and be smug, you have every right to be," Penelope teased her. "You were right and I can admit that now. I'm glad you urged me to not break it off with him at least until I gave him a chance and at the moment it's going well."

"So you agreed to a second date then?" JJ asked and Penelope nodded.

"I did, although he warned me it would be a few days since he had his job to worry about and also I'm assuming his restaurant, although he didn't mention that specifically. For all I know he just owns the restaurant, but he doesn't actually work there, at least not anymore," Penelope said. "I told him that would be fine, because I have my job too and we don't have to see each other every free minute."

"And that's perfectly normal," JJ said beyond pleased at how this situation was going so far.

"I know it is, but I certainly didn't expect to miss him so intensely, especially since we've just started dating after all," Penelope said her voice rather melancholy.

"You must have feelings for him if you miss him that bad," JJ suggested shrewdly.

"I don't know why these feelings came upon me so suddenly, as I never really believed in love at first sight, but that night we met at that club we just sort of clicked, you know? I didn't really want to admit it at the time, because I didn't understand it, but dancing with Dave, it was as if there was no one else around, except the two of us. I was reluctant to stop after one dance, but on the other hand, I wasn't about to get me into the same type of situation that I had with Derek."

"I don't think that's too likely," JJ said, "at least not from what you've told me. Dave, seems like a totally different kind of man from Derek Morgan, may he rot in hell."

"JJ!" Penelope said utterly scandalized. "That's not very nice!"

"But it's the truth," JJ said unrepentant

"Alright, maybe it is," Penelope finally agreed still looking utterly astonished at her friend's words.

"You know it is," JJ corrected.

"Alright, it's the truth, but I certainly didn't expect you to say such a thing," Penelope said

"Alright, so I'm too nice most of the time," JJ admitted shrugging. "However, what Derek Morgan did hurt you very deeply and I know you're still not completely over what happened. He didn't care that he hurt you so badly, and wasn't even remorseful or repentant at his actions. He not only believes that cheating on whoever he was dating at the time is right, but positively expected. He seemed to believe you should have been expecting his cheating from the beginning." JJ shook her head. "He's just totally messed up and doesn't believe in being loyal to his girlfriend until he breaks up with her. I can't see him ever getting married and having a family, because he seems uninterested in that type of relationship."

"Some men are like that," Penelope said utterly astonished at her friend's words, but she supposed she probably shouldn't have been. JJ was extremely loyal to those she loved and just because she hadn't voiced this particular opinion at the time it didn't mean that she hadn't had it, but she probably hadn't wanted to hurt her farther by voicing it. At the time the breakup had occurred she had been deeply hurt and she hadn't been interested in hearing JJ's opinion, as she hadn't wanted to talk about it. She had been more upset at her own stupidity at not recognizing the signs then the break up, although what Derek had done had certainly played a factor as well.

"I know, but still it doesn't make it right," JJ said and Penelope could only agree with her friend.

"No, it doesn't, but let's not discuss that son of a bitch," Penelope said and JJ nodded changing the subject.

"All I want is for you to be happy, Penny," JJ told her friend, "and if David Rossi makes you happy then I'll support your relationship. Now if only I could find someone for myself that will accept me as well as my son..."

"It's too early to tell, whether or not he's the one, because after all we've only had one date. On the other hand, considering how fast my feelings developed..." Penelope said her voice trailing off, as she became lost in thought.

"You just want to make sure you're not making a mistake," JJ said instantly understanding her friend's concern.

"I don't want another relationship to go so terribly wrong," Penelope said and JJ nodded in understanding.

"No, you definitely don't deserve to have that happen to you twice, so I don't blame you for being cautious," JJ said.

The two continued to chat for awhile before JJ had to head home to relieve the babysitter and spend some time with her son.

"Make sure you come and see Henry sometime soon," JJ told her friend and Penelope nodded.

"I already promised I would," Penelope said. "Perhaps, tomorrow, as I have the day off."

"That would be excellent," JJ said pleased. "Henry will be very happy to see his Aunt Penelope. Who knows, you might be having a few children of your own in the not too distant future."

"From your mouth to God's ear," Penelope said, looking wistful. "It won't be many more years before I'm too old to have children and while I could have a couple, even if I'm not married I prefer to settle down with someone."

"What does Dave think about having children?" JJ asked.

"I don't know, as we haven't gotten that far, after all we've only had one date, but hopefully, he won't object to at least a couple if our relationship gets that far. Of course, if we have more than two I won't object, because I certainly have the money to support them all by myself, if something were to happen to whoever I married or we simply divorced and I got custody of whatever children we had," Penelope answered.

"Think positively," JJ urged her. "Don't think about what bad things that can happen, think about the good things. Having someone to come home to every night. Having someone in your life that cares about and loves you unconditionally despite your faults. Having someone to cuddle up to as the two of you sit on the couch watching a movie. Having someone to listen to your worries and concerns offering constructive and helpful advice without judging you."

"In other words, having someone to share your life with, someone who will always be there when you really need them to be to soothe you when you're upset or sad. Someone who understands that you can fix your own problems and you don't need them to do that for you, as all you really need is for them to listen without judgment. Unfortunately, that's a pretty rare quality as people tend to judge others without even realizing it most of the time," Penelope sighed. "I've been judged more times than I care to admit, just because I like to dress rather outrageously and don't follow the crowd, as I've always followed my own drummer I believe the expression is. I've never been one to follow what's popular, as you know and trust me, I'm judged on the way I dress and most people figure that I'm just a hippie and therefore, someone not worth knowing."

"Unfortunately, a lot of people just don't know how to look past the surface of things," JJ observed.

"Oh, well, it doesn't matter," Penelope shrugged. "I refuse to be like everyone else, just to be more accepted into society, as I discovered a long time ago that a lot of people didn't like me, because they were jealous of my intelligence. Of course, that's when I was a child and then a young woman in college, but still I doubt things have changed much."

"I bet those people that were so jealous of you would be green with envy if they knew how successful you were in your chosen field," JJ giggled.

"That's a likely possibility, but I could care less about those girls in the popular crowd from when I was in high school, as they were cruel and thoughtless. I'm not saying that they have not changed in the intervening years, because a lot of times the stuff you do as teenagers you regret once you're grown, but some of the things they said to me hurt me..."

"And you're more impressionable as a child and teenager then most adults become later," JJ said. "You likely believed every nasty thing they said about you at the time."

"You can't really help, but believe them, because most teenagers aren't that confidence really that whatever was said isn't true," Penelope said, as she remembered all the nasty things that some of those girls in her high school had said to her.

"They were likely just jealous of you as you suggested earlier," JJ said. "Jealous of your intelligence and you probably didn't have any trouble with the schoolwork."

"No, I didn't," Penelope agreed. "I might not be as intelligent as some of those geniuses I've heard about, but I certainly never had trouble with my schoolwork. Oh, well, those days are long over with and we are both adults, successful in our chosen careers and those girls or I suppose they would be women now can just eat their hearts out. I doubt we'll ever meet again, even though I grew up in California, simply because I moved to a different city from the one I grew up in, so it's unlikely I'll ever run into anyone that I used to know. Now, you had better get home Henry and tell him his Aunt Penelope will be by to visit tomorrow."

"You're right, I need to get home," JJ agreed. "I'll see you tomorrow. You'll tell me how your next date goes, right?"

"Of course," Penelope promised. "You're the only one I share everything with, you know that."

"Yes, I do," JJ said smiling, "but I was just making sure that's all."

"Don't worry you'll get all the details just like you did this time," Penelope said giggling.

JJ nodded and headed for the door, as she really did need to get home to her son.

"I'll see you later," Penelope called and JJ waved, before she was out the door.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"Enjoying yourself," Dave asked Penelope.

"Oh, yes, very much," Penelope said. "I always enjoy your company, you know that."

"I've been wanting to bring you to my place for sometime, but I knew that you had to learn trust me first," Dave said.

The two of them had been dating for several months and had had way more then the dozen dates that she had promised JJ she would have with Dave, before she would consider breaking up with him and as she had already admitted, JJ had been correct about giving Dave a chance. Now as things stood she would never consider breaking up with him, as she had fallen in love, although she hadn't admitted that to him yet. Of course to be fair, Dave hadn't said it either, but his actions towards her spoke volumes, as he was always doing things for her. The two of them went out several times a week and spent a lot of time in each others company, talking about everything under the sun. She was actually beginning to dream of a future with him and she was hoping that Dave felt the same way she did, although she was almost certain that he did, as all the signs were there. The two of them had not had sex yet and Dave as promised had not tried to force the issue or even hinted about it. However, tonight was the night, but it could wait until after dinner, as for one thing she was starved and for another there was no point of ruining the delicious meal that Dave was preparing. Besides, they would need their energy for what she had planned, which she was positive Dave would be deliriously happy to go along with.

"Well, I do trust you, but then you put a lot of work into making sure I did," Penelope chuckled. "I've never met any man that put so much work into a woman, unless he had an ulterior motive."

"Oh? And what could my ulterior motive possibly be?" Dave asked amused.

"Well, realistically, I see two options. One you have some kind of nefarious purpose in mind, something that involves gaining my trust, instead of just say kidnapping me. The second is that you are a genuinely nice guy who's in love with a pretty woman, one who has trust issues, which she made sure you were aware of in advance."

Dave snorted at that, but had to admit that his lady love had a point.

"So what do you believe my ulterior motive is?" asked Dave trying to hide his amusement.

"Well, if I truly believed you had some sort of nefarious purpose or that you were cheating on me, then I wouldn't be calmly sitting here," Penelope told him with a distinct twinkle in her beautiful brown eyes. "In fact, I likely would have broken up with you after only a few dates, but as I have come to learn you are a good man and way different then the guy I broke up with over a year before I met you."

"That's good to know," Dave said, pretending to wipe his brow of imaginary sweat causing Penelope to giggle.

"I'm glad I didn't offend you or anything," Penelope offered.

"I'm not going to let something like that offend me, Penny. I'm just glad you know I would never hurt you, as you have very quickly become very important to me," Dave said smiling at the beautiful woman sitting at the bar that separated the kitchen area from the den.

There, that was as close as he had ever come to saying that he loved her and he hoped she got the message.

She apparently did, because she beamed at him with her dazzling smile, causing Dave to smile in return. He didn't let her know that he was relieved that she had understood his silent message, as he wasn't quite ready to say the words.

"So did you ever think about having anymore children? I know some people don't want them after they lose one, but then some do," Penelope asked pretending her question was very casual, but the look Dave shot her told her that she hadn't fooled him in the slightest.

"I always swore that I never have another child, not after what happened to James," Dave began and Penelope tried not to look disappointed. "However, someone I trust informed me that the likelihood of something going so drastically wrong a second time, were astronomical. He also said that medical technology back then wasn't as advanced as it is now and he is correct about that. The doctors nowadays can fix a lot of problems that simply weren't fixable back when James was born, so to answer your question yes, I would be willing to have a few children so long as they were with a woman I loved. Of course, if I have half a dozen I certainly won't object, because I'm very wealthy as you know, so affording half a dozen children isn't going to be a problem."

Penelope was very happy at Dave's answer, as she had feared for a second that he wouldn't want any children, not after what happened to his son, but now she knew that he had changed his mind thanks to his friend. She didn't blame him for being devastated at the death of James, because it was always hard to lose a child, even if he or she was stillborn or died due to some incurable disease or because of an accident. She was very happy that Dave was willing to try again and God willing all their children would be born healthy if they did decide to tie the knot at some future date.

"So who is this friend of yours that made you change your mind about possibly having a family?" Penelope asked curiously.

"His name is Spencer Reid, and I'm sure the two of you would get along famously. He's a doctor although not a medical one, but he does have several different degrees. He's a genius with a very high IQ and eidetic memory. He's not at all arrogant though due to his intelligence like so many people with high intelligence are and I'm sure the two of you could become good friends," Dave told her.

"Well, you can never have too many friends, and really all I have is JJ," Penelope said. "I have a few casual friends, but JJ is by far my best one."

"Well, you should meet Spencer," Dave said. "I'll have to introduce you at some point and you'll find out he's very shy around new people until he gets to know them. However, you'll find you have a friend for life once you gain his trust. We've been good friends for several years, as he's much younger than I am or even you are. I took the time to truly get to know him, which not many people had done before, because others never bothered to look past the surface to see the gentle, kind man underneath the shyness."

"So what does he do for a living?" Penelope asked.

"Oh, a lot of things, as he hates being bored with a passion and so keeps constantly busy," Dave grinned. "But as for what he actually does for money, he owns a small sweetshop."

"I would think with his mind he would do more then own a sweetshop," Penelope said.

"Oh, he does have a fine mind, but he discovered in college that he loved cooking, as he always went up to see his mother on the train on the weekends, always bringing her something that he had baked in the university's kitchen. Yes, he does have a degree in chemistry and engineering and several others, but you need to do what you love, so he went to culinary school after that. Besides, I think he did it partly to get back to his father who is a bit of a bastard at least from what I know of him. The Senior Reid definitely wouldn't approve of Spencer going into baking as a profession. From what Spencer has told me he wanted his son to get a big important job like maybe joining the FBI, but Spencer was strong enough mentally to not do what he wanted. Then again, the man abandoned his wife and son when Spencer was 10, so that no doubt made it easier to defy what his father wanted. William Reid hasn't been part of his son's life in years so why in the hell should Spencer do what he wants?" Dave asked rhetorically.

"He shouldn't," Penelope answered immediately. "If he loves to bake and that's what he should do."

"And that's what he decided on. He's been to more than one culinary school, several of them actually which is how he can always come up with the most delicious desserts, as he creates his own on a regular basis, at least once a month. I'll tell you one thing though and that is if I ate there on a regular basis well, I'd have to exercise a great deal more to keep my trim waist," Dave said with a quirk of his mouth to show the humor in the situation.

"What running after bad guys doesn't keep you fit?" Penelope teased him.

"No, because I mostly sit in my car watching people from a distance," Dave answered. "I certainly don't run after unsubs like I did when I was a member of the BAU. No, now I have to exercise a lot in order to keep in shape and also not overdo it on the deserts."

"Well, it was certainly worth the effort you put into it," Penelope said, as she allowed herself to look at Dave's body and show how much she appreciated his trim form.

"Well, my lady, dinner is served," Dave said not letting it show that he really appreciated that Penelope seemed to really love his body. He had been determined to keep himself in shape after he had retired from the FBI and apparently he had succeeded if Penelope's lustful gaze was anything to go by.

"It smells wonderful," Penelope said, as she inhaled the delicious scents of a well prepared meal.

"We can do this again sometime if you like," Dave offered, as he set his own plate on the kitchen table.

"We probably will," Penelope said, as she took her first bite of the meal Dave had prepared. "We'll likely enjoy many meals sitting at the kitchen table."

Dave gazed deeply into Penelope's eyes after she said that and apparently liked what he saw, because he kissed her cheek but said nothing.

Penelope was aware that Dave kept shooting her looks all throughout the meal, even as they enjoyed their food, but she pretended not to notice.

"That was absolutely scrumptious," Penelope said after she had taken her last bite.

"I'm certainly glad you enjoyed it," Dave told her.

"There was little chance of me not enjoying it, as you do own on your own restaurant after all and you did work there at one point before you just hired someone to run it for you," Penelope said.

"Well, Sean was looking for a job and I already knew he was a great cook from Aaron and so he got a trial run. He worked out and that's the end of it. Sean is probably just as good a cook, as I am although I do try to keep my hand in."

"Well, the place is certainly popular, so apparently Aaron's brother is doing a good job managing the place," Penelope said.

"Oh, yes, Sophie's is doing very well for both Sean and I, as he is part owner," Dave agreed. "I turned over 20% of the business to him once he had proved himself and he was really grateful."

"Anybody would be, as that was really generous of you," Penelope told him with a smile. "It would make anybody extremely loyal to the person who had done such a thing."

"Well, Sean loves cooking, just as much as I do and really you have to be passionate about something to excel at it. I never would've done it if I wasn't sure it was his passion and I might've moved on to other things, but I suspect that he'll be a cook until he decides to retire. As for me, I love to cook I'll admit that, but I also have other interests as well while Sean doesn't or at least not ones as strong as his love of the culinary arts."

"So he was the perfect replacement for you," Penelope giggled and Dave nodded looking smug.

"One of the best decisions I ever made as Sophie's is doing extremely well," Dave said. "Aaron was certainly grateful that Sean had found himself a job that he really loves, even if I'm not entirely sure that he approves of his brother's choice of careers."

"Well, Aaron is the more serious type while Sean is more laid back," Penelope said, as she had met both on several occasions and really liked them. "A lot of people aren't lucky to actually work in a profession that they love and are good at and Aaron needs to realize that his brother is very different from himself, as he is at least what seven years younger?"

"About that yes," Dave agreed impressed with Penelope's logic. "From the way I understand it Sean was something of a surprise to Aaron's parents."

"Well then, it's no surprise that Sean is so different from his brother considering the age gap. Perhaps, if they had been born closer together it would be different or Sean might have turned out exactly the same, but we'll never know."

"Well, at least Aaron hasn't actually said anything about Sean's profession. I think he realizes that his younger brother has a right to make his own decisions, since he is an adult," Dave said. "In any case, he is a very good cook while I still run the business end and we have both profited from the partnership."

"Let me put the dishes in the dishwasher for you, since you were nice enough to fix us such a delicious meal," Penelope offered.

"No, you're my guest," Dave protested.

Penelope simply gave him a look not saying a word and Dave caved.

"Alright, you can load the dishwasher," Dave finally gave in. Dave knew that Penelope was telling him that she wanted to feel like she was pulling her weight and since he had fixed such a terrific meal then she was going to clear the table of the debris from it.

"Smart man," was all Penelope said.

The dishwasher was loaded in short order by Penelope while Dave leaned against the counter and watched the woman he had fallen in love with do so. He couldn't help thinking how domestic the two of them were being, eating dinner talking about normal things and then cleaning up the kitchen.

Once the kitchen was clean a few minutes later Penelope turned to Dave.

"I'm ready to take that step if you're interested," Penelope told him.

Dave was confused about what Penny meant until he remembered one of his first conversations with her and how he would never pressure her into going to bed with him until she was ready.

"You sure you're ready to take that step?" Dave asked. "I can wait if you're not positive."

"I'm sure," Penelope promised him, as she willingly walked into his arms, where he cuddled her close. "I never would've said anything if I wasn't positive. I… I… have fallen in love with you and I never imagined in a million years that would ever happen, not after what happened with Derek Morgan."

She had revealed the name of the man that had hurt her to Dave just a month or so ago and Dave had been proud that she'd trusted him enough to do so.

"I love you too, I just didn't know how to say the words until right now," Dave told her tenderly, as he kissed her gently. "I guess you saying the words released whatever reservations I was harboring."

"We've both been hurt, even if it was in different ways," Penelope said, as she cuddled close to Dave's form.

"Yes, that's true," Dave agreed. "Me with the loss of my son, and you because of that bastard known as Derek Morgan."

"So shall we head upstairs?" Penelope hinted.

"If that's what you really want, I'm not about to object," Dave said grinning.

"I didn't think you would," Penelope giggled. "You've been very patient and I appreciate it."

"It was my pleasure, my lady," Dave said, as he hugged Penny even closer to him. "Let's head upstairs, shall we?"

Yes sir, I'll be glad to oblige you and you don't even have to worry about using a condom I'm clean and I'm also on birth control," Penelope said

"I'm clean to, as I've always been very careful not to come down with any transmittable diseases," Dave said.

"Well good, because I know that a condom is necessary in a lot of cases I really don't want any barrier between you and I," Penelope said.

"Sounds good to me," Dave said, as he headed upstairs Penelope following looking around as she did so, as she had only seen the lower portion of the house earlier, but not the upstairs.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

Reviews welcome!


	5. Chapter 5

Part 4

"You ready?" Dave asked Penelope softly, as the two of them stood by the bed totally naked, having already disrobed.

"Yes," Penelope said a little nervously, as really the last sex she'd had was with Derek and he had hurt her badly, even if it was emotionally and not in that way.

"Don't be nervous, I will never hurt you, that I swear," Dave said, as he took the naked form in his arms, his manhood grinding against Penelope stomach since Dave was several inches taller than she herself was. It was more than obvious that his manhood was ready for action and in fact it was absolutely bulging with his semen and even leaking a little. "See you have my manhood all excited and it hasn't been that excited in a very long time. Believe me, it is anticipating being buried in your gorgeous body."

"I'm hardly gorgeous," Penelope protested weakly.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I think you're the most gorgeous woman in the world and anyone who tells you any different can just go fuck themselves," Dave said firmly causing Penelope to blush all over her body and laugh at the same time

"If you don't believe me, I'll simply have to show you," Dave offered with a rather smug smirk.

Penelope giggled and kissed him not minding his beard at all, as she liked the way it scratched her face.

"And showing me is purely altruistic on your part?" Penelope teased.

"Well, not entirely," Dave admitted not looking to least bit guilty or sheepish.

"Oh, and what could your reasons possibly be for calling me gorgeous when I know I'm anything but?" Penelope asked coquettishly.

"I think you're gorgeous and my opinion is the only one that counts in this case," Dave told her sincerely. "And as for my reasons I'm hoping that you'll agree to marry me and spend the rest of your life at my side."

Penelope stepped back looking stunned at Dave's words, but stared in to his eyes searching for something and Dave's stared back at her unflinchingly letting the emotions that he had been keeping bottled up show on his face as well as in his eyes. Penelope studied him for a few moments and seemed to find what she was looking for, so she kissed him for all she was worth.

"Was that a yes?" Dave teased her, although it was clear he was stunned by the intensity of the kiss, even if it was clear he was expecting an answer.

"Yes, because I love you and I've never loved anybody else in the same way. I believed for awhile that Derek was the one until he betrayed me," Penelope said. "However, my feelings for him, which I thought were love at the time, don't compare to the ones I have for you. I was seriously beginning to dream about raising a family with you, as I've wanted children for years. I love Henry, but he isn't mine."

"Yes, well, it's already been said that Morgan's a bastard," Dave said knowing that he could cuss in front of Penelope and she didn't mind. Of course, he didn't do it too often, as he had been raised a gentleman after all, but when the name of Derek Morgan came up he felt it was more than deserved. "As for raising a family I'll be more than happy to give in to that demand 'after' we get married. I now understand why you are asking me if I wanted children earlier. You were testing the waters, weren't you?"

"Yes," Penelope admitted blushing at being figured out so easily. "I know that you might not want children, not after what happened to your infant son all those years ago back before medical technology was so advanced. Some people don't you know and then others do have another child, but it's kind of a rebound baby."

"And then some wait until the worst of their grief has passed and then have another," Dave added. "For me it's been many years since James died and I know I'll carry the grief at his death with me until the day I die too, but it certainly isn't as sharp as it was when it first occurred."

"We can discuss wedding details later, right now I want you to make love to me," Penelope demanded, causing Dave to beam at her.

"Anything you desire, my lady," Dave told her. "I'll make sure I propose to you properly when the time is right and that's a promise."

"I'll be waiting," Penelope told him smiling into Dave's dark eyes that were almost the exact same shade as her own.

"I want you to lay down on the bed and relax, I won't hurt you," Dave promised her tenderly, running a gentle finger over her cheek. "I know it's been awhile since you've been sexually active, so we'll go slow this first time until you get used to having sex again."

"You don't have to be gentle with me I'll be fine," Penelope promised. "Yes, it's been nearly 2 years since I've been sexually active and if you hadn't come into my life it would have been even longer, but I trust you not to hurt me. I'm a little nervous as you know, but that's only because I haven't had sex in a long time and so it has nothing to do with you."

"Thank you for trusting me. I'll strive to always be worthy of it," Dave said, as he climbed onto the bed and put one of his knees between Penelope's legs so that she wouldn't close them on accident.

"You've earned it. You've more than proved that you're a good man. One who is gentle, tender, loving, generous to a fault, kind, caring and so many more things besides," Penelope told him before Dave got started.

"Thank you for the compliment," Dave said, as he kissed her gently.

"I haven't said anything that isn't true," Penelope told him. "But now let's get started, shall we? I am very eager for you to make love to me."

"Sounds good to me, but since this is your first time in nearly 2 years I'm going to be gentle," Dave informed her. "Once we're having sex regularly we can get into the rougher stuff if you want."

Dave stopped talking and started giving the woman he been wanting for months as much pleasure as he could, determined to take his time. He kissed and nipped gently along her stomach and chest, taking each of her nipples into his mouth, gently rolling them around and sucking on them gently.

Penelope purred and nearly bucked off the bed at the sensations that Dave's actions caused. The fingers of one of Penelope's hands tangled in his hair and pulled gently, as Dave continued to make love to her. Penelope participated enthusiastically by wiggling beneath him, which was very enticing and made Dave even harder.

Finally, Dave entered her in several powerful thrusts once he was sure she was wet enough and released his very engorged manhood into her body.

Their climaxes which had been building for sometime, exploded within them and neither spoke as they rode them out.

"Well," Dave said smiling down at the gorgeous form of the woman he loved. "Ready for another round? Or are you too tired as that was a very powerful shared climax."

"Oh, you can make love to me all you want, as that was spectacular and you're certainly better at it then any other man I've ever had sex with," Penelope admitted candidly, smiling up at him feeling so utterly happy that it was nearly unreal.

"Good to know," Dave said grinning smugly, even as he ran a gentle hand up over her breasts and down her stomach loving how soft Penelope's skin was, causing her to coo and sigh in content. "Of course, you realize that our emotions have a lot to do with how good the sex is. When you just have sex in order to relieve yourself it's different from having sex with someone you truly love."

"Oh? Is that so?" Penelope giggled.

"Yeah, it's something I've noticed over the years," Dave said. "I loved Caroline, just like I love you, so the sex was spectacular, but every time I made love to a woman once Caroline and I divorced it wasn't even half as good. I made sure I gave whatever woman I was having sex with her satisfaction and I got mine, but my climaxes certainly weren't as powerful. I think the more you love someone the better the sex is, but that's just a theory of mine, not fact."

"So when do you want to get married?" Penelope asked casually.

"As soon as everything can be arranged," Dave said, "as I've been waiting years to find a woman I can love for the rest of my life. I believed for a time that Caroline and I would be together until we died or old age, but we both know how that turned out."

"Yeah, the death of the child is a real marriage breaker a lot of times unless the couple gets counseling, which just wasn't done for the most part back then," Penelope said. She certainly sympathized with Dave for the death of his son, but on the other hand, she and Dave wouldn't be together now if he and Caroline hadn't divorced years ago.

"I have to believe that it won't happen to us," Dave said, "and if it does I won't allow it to break our marriage apart like it did for me and Caroline."

"Think positively," Penelope told him. "Let's not borrow trouble. Your friend was right the likelihood of it happening two times in a row particularly with advances in medical technology and with two different women, well, it isn't very likely or at least the odds are extremely small. Once we do get married in a few months time I want to start a family right away because I'm not getting any younger."

"That's fine with me," Dave agreed. "I'll be more than happy to get you pregnant once we officially tie the knot and if it happens on our wedding night then I certainly won't object. I don't expect you to be a stay-at-home mom, so we'll just hire a nanny to look after them when we're both working."

"What a fine idea," Penelope said pleased. "We'll have to make sure to spend plenty of time with them, so they don't feel neglected, but having a nanny to look after them when we are busy is a great idea."

"Yes, we'll spend plenty of time with them," Dave promised. "Take them on outings and stuff like that. That's for the future though right now I'm going to make love to you again and then maybe we should get some sleep."

"I'm not tired, so perhaps, we can make love some more, as that was the best sex I've ever had hands down and I'm not ready for you to stop yet," Penelope suggested winking at him making Dave grin. "Why should we sleep as we both have the day off tomorrow, so can sleep in. I say that only when we get tired should we do actually go to sleep."

Dave grinned at her by way of reply apparently happy with the suggestion.

"Your wish is my command, my lady," Dave told her happily, as he got back to making love to the gorgeous woman that had agreed to become his wife, although he still intended to propose formally at a later date.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"So how was it?" JJ asked her friend.

"How was what?" Penelope teased her friend knowing that her whole attitude was different after the night she'd spent with Dave. It was often said that a woman glowed after having a satisfying night of sex and that was definitely correct in her case. She felt so happy that she knew it showed on her face and in her posture as she just couldn't help herself from showing that she was so happy with her life at the moment.

"You know perfectly well what I mean, Penny," JJ told her friend sternly before bursting into giggles.

"Yeah, I do," Penelope giggled unable to maintain her façade of not knowing what her best friend was talking about. "As for how it was…it was absolutely wonderful. He was so gentle, tender, loving and he even warned me in advance that he was going to be that way at least until I got used to having sex again, because it'd been too nearly 2 years as you know. He made it the best experience of my life and we made love for hours before we both finally fell into an exhausted sleep. He even brought me breakfast in bed, which we shared before getting ready for the day. Technically, it was more lunch than breakfast because we slept quite late thanks to all activities of the night before. Not that that really matters as it is the thought that counts after all."

"So did you finally tell him that you love him?" JJ wanted to know. She had been well aware for some time that her best friend had fallen in love with the handsome, debonair David Rossi, even though Penelope had never said anything to her or anyone,but she knew the signs.

Penelope was unsurprised that her friend had known that she had fallen in love with Dave as JJ was incredibly perceptive and also knew her very well.

"Yes, I told him and he told me he loves me to. We even talked about getting married, but not right this second or anything. We're not going to rush into anything, but he has promised to propose. I believe his exact words were when the time is right."

"I'm so happy for you, Penny," JJ said flinging her arms around her friend.

"Thank you, I haven't been this happy in...well...ever actually," Penelope said beaming at her friend.

"You deserve it," JJ said. "You deserve every bit of happiness that's coming your way."

"Well, I'm glad you approve," Penelope giggled.

"I really liked Dave the few times I've met him, so of course, I approve, mostly because he makes you so incredibly happy. Still, he's a good man and I certainly like him better than that bastard that shall remain nameless," JJ said.

"Good, because if Dave had any ill intentions between the two of us I'm sure we'd spot them," Penelope said relieved.

"No, Dave is nothing like the guy you dated before you met," JJ assured her friend, understanding her fear. "I truly believe that Dave only has your best intentions at heart and trust me, if he was cheating on you you would have to noticed the signs by now. You are more aware of what to look for now thanks to what happened last time, so you would know if he wasn't being completely faithful. No, Dave is a totally different kind of man from you know who. I know when you get married in a few months time you'll be deliriously happy."

"Which is something I want for you as well," Penelope told her friend. "And you might just get it so long as your relationship with Aaron Hotchner is going as well as mine is with Dave."

"It's going splendidly, but we're still getting to know each other since we didn't meet until a month ago when Dave introduced us. Still, I like him a great deal, and I might even be falling in love with him, but still I'm cautious with relationships just like you are," JJ said.

"We have every right to be considering we've both had bad experiences, even if yours wasn't as bad as mine was," Penelope said.

"You know the old saying…fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me," JJ said.

"In other words, we both only needed to be burned once before we were much more careful about what man we got involved with," Penelope summarized.

"Yeah, as we fell for the fact that, both our men were incredibly handsome, but just because they were handsome didn't mean their characters were sterling," JJ said.

"That's the truth," Penelope snorted. "I won't deny that Dave's a very handsome man, but I've gotten to know his character quite well over the last few months and he and Derek Morgan are nothing alike. Derek is a player, and doesn't mind having three different girlfriends at a time while Dave is the exact opposite and breaks up with one girl before he finds himself another. He was totally loyal to his first wife Caroline before their divorce. He has admitted that he just didn't pay enough attention to her needs, but then he was much younger back then and he didn't realize that a marriage is work. I don't hold his two divorces against him, because we live and learn and people simply learn at different speeds."

"Yes, you can get so caught up in your life that you don't realize that you ignoring your spouse and most people hate being ignored, particularly by their significant other," JJ agreed. "I think you're right and that Dave has learned his lessons well, so I suspect that he'll spoil you rotten, just to let you know that he loves you."

"Probably and I certainly won't mind if he does," Penelope grinned. "A little spoiling never did anyone any harm."

"Nope, it sure doesn't," JJ giggled, "but it certainly lets you know that your man is thinking about you and that you're appreciated. So many couples forget that a little spoiling of their spouse let's that person know that they were thought of and makes them feel appreciated. So many marriages or just relationships break up because the couple forgets and us humans don't like to be forgotten or ignored by the person that is supposed to love us. Humans in general like to feel that they are appreciated, particularly by their spouse and so many people forget or just don't care enough that it's no wonder there is so much divorce in the world. Of course, it's not just Dave's job to show you that you are appreciated. You also need to show him that you appreciate everything he does for you, as saying I love you isn't always enough. Relationships go both ways, as it's just not one-sided."

"I get what you're saying," Penelope said. "I need to make sure Dave never forgets that I love him, just like it's his job to make sure I never forget the same thing. Relationships are a two way street and it isn't just up to just Dave to remember things like our anniversary or my birthday. I'll make sure that I don't get so caught up in just being with him that I forget to make him feel appreciated from time to time."

"I think the two of you will work out just fine because now you know the score," JJ said, grinning.

"It doesn't hurt to be reminded that I need to appreciate that I found such a man as Dave to love me for myself," Penelope said soberly.

"Which is a pretty rare quality," JJ said and Penelope was in complete agreement with that statement.

"Yeah, I know I was really lucky not only in the fact that we met, but that you talked me out of breaking up with him after only a date or two. If not for you I probably would have let my fears do something I would have come to regret, but by then it would've been too late," Penelope realized.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and JJ and Penelope looked at each other.

"You're not expecting anyone, are you?" JJ asked and Penelope shook her head.

"No, I'm not, but I better go see who it is," Penelope responded.

JJ trailed her friend to the door, as Penelope checked the peephole and gasped in surprise before yanking the door open.

"Penelope Garcia?" asked the deliveryman.

"Yes, that's me," Penelope exclaimed, as she stared at the gorgeous bouquet of red and yellow roses this time instead of just yellow for friendship.

"If you'll just sign here," the deliveryman said.

Penelope did so and the delivery man picked up the huge vase of roses off the floor and handed them to her.

"Thank you," Penelope said looking dazed, as she shut the door.

"Well, I would say this is a good indication that Dave enjoyed himself the other night," JJ said staring at the huge vase of roses. "There's probably at least three dozen roses in this gorgeous bouquet and I wouldn't be surprised if there was more than that. I would say this is good indication that Dave is truly in love with you, because roses are not cheap. Even a dozen would cost you close to 50 bucks, depending on where you bought them of course, but this many would be at least 120 to 150 or so."

Penelope blushed and stared at the gorgeous bouquet in her arms. "I certainly think the world of him too, but you just don't send a man flowers, as it just isn't done."

"So I'm sure you can think of something else that he really enjoys," JJ suggested. "Find him season tickets for his favorite sports team for example."

"I'll think of something," Penelope promised. "Maybe a nice new watch or a men's style bracelet."

"Both good ideas," JJ approved. "So what does the card say?"

"You think I'm going to tell you what the card says after I read it," Penelope asked her friend with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sure it's something very private and not something I'm going to want to share."

"Well, why don't you see first," JJ suggested trying not to look disappointed.

Penelope removed the card from the vase of flowers and read it quickly blushing the whole time.

"Definitely not something I want to share," Penelope said once she had finished reading the card.

"Oh, come on," JJ begged, but Penelope shook her head, blushing again.

"Sorry it's just between me and Dave," Penelope said.

"But we share everything," JJ protested.

"Most things," Penelope corrected. "You don't share every mushy detail of your dates, do you?"

"No," JJ admitted. "Most of them, but not everything."

"So I to share most of the details of my date with Dave, but this is extremely private," said Penelope, as she slipped the card into a pocket.

"Alright, fine," JJ pouted, knowing that she wouldn't change her friend's mind.

"You can quit the pouting. I know very well that you just want me to give in and tell you what Dave said and it's not going to happen," Penelope told her with twinkling brown eyes.

"Alright, fine," JJ repeated with a sigh then burst into giggles, although she was still disappointed. It wasn't that she didn't understand why her friend didn't want to share the details of what was likely an intimate note, but still she was disappointed that Penelope wasn't going to tell her. On the other hand, she didn't share everything that Aaron said to her either, so she supposed it was only fair.

"So when is your next date?" JJ asked.

"Saturday," Penelope said.

"Saturday is a good day for a date," JJ said.

"So do you have one with Aaron?" Penelope asked.

"Yep, he's taking me to dinner and then a play," JJ said.

"Good for you," Penelope said warmly. "I just want you to be happy."

"And I want you to be the same, although it's clear that you are," JJ said.

"You're certainly happier then you were before you met Aaron," Penelope said. "I know you didn't swear off dating like I did, but then again you're break up with Will wasn't as bad. Still, you haven't really been happy with the men you were dating either, but that changed when you met Aaron and you've been happier and more content for the last few weeks."

"Yeah, I am," JJ said clearly just realizing it.

"I like Aaron, as he's a lot like Dave and that's a gentleman," Penelope said.

"And those three little boys of his adorable," JJ added.

"Now that I agree with," Penelope said with a smile. "It is hard to find a man or even a woman that would accept another person's kids, so if you ask me you two are perfect match for each other as you love each other's children, which really isn't all that common you know."

"Well, he does love Henry just as much as he loves his own sons," JJ admitted, "which is several big bonus points in his favor, especially since Henry adores him. I still can't believe that his wife would leave him and her three sons."

"I don't think it was her sons she was dissatisfied with," Penelope commented. "It was more the fact that she wanted Aaron to become a lawyer again and quit being a private investigator or at least that was the impression I got from Dave and you from what little you both have said."

"Yeah, I know, but I still don't believe that she would abandon her sons," JJ said shaking her head. "I would never abandon Henry for anything in the world and if we do happen to get married, well, I already love Ben, Jack and Kyle as if they were my own and I know Aaron loves Henry as well."

"It's always amazed me that some people just can't accept another person's kids, whether that's from a previous marriage or because of an accident," Penelope said. "To many times they are either ignored by the new person in the house, openly or secretly resented or treated as if they are two even if they are teenagers. So many people just don't understand how to handle kids or unfortunately, a lot of times, they don't want to put in the effort. I find it even more sad that Aaron's wife would abandon her own children and even sign over the parental rights."

"Well, from what Aaron tells me he believes that she was jealous that he makes more in his private investigator work then she did at her job. She was also always suspicious that Aaron had a sidepiece as a couple of females that work with Dave. Emily Prentiss and then there is the secretary Alice Manning, neither of which are married. Of course, there're several other factors involved, as I have already previously stated and it all just added up," JJ said. "Personally I believe she just wanted out of the marriage and instead of just asking calmly for a divorce she accused him of cheating."

"So you don't believe that Aaron cheated on his wife," Penelope said and JJ shook her head.

"No, he's a lot like Dave, as you said. In other words, he's too honorable to do such a thing. I believe him when he tells me that he never once cheated on Haley and that he was very loyal to her, even though he told me that he knew she cheated on him on a few occasions, as he knows the signs," JJ said. "Dave and Aaron despite the age difference could have been born into the same family or been brothers in another life, because there ethics and values at least match extremely well, even if they don't look much alike. I believe that's why the two of them are such good friends, because they share the same morals and values and a lot of the same interest as well. Also they're both very good at their jobs. I understand that Aaron works a lot, but really it's not as bad as Haley apparently made it out to be, because Aaron and I have spent plenty of time together over the last few weeks. Besides, Dave isn't so cruel as to make him work all the time with very few breaks in between. It's not like either one of them works for the government at some job that tend to have a lot of overtime, the behavior analyst unit for example where they're gone a lot, sometimes for a week or more at a time. No, I truly believe that Haley was just jealous that Aaron was around several beautiful women and instead of seeing it for the friendship it was..."

"She was insecure and truly believed that Aaron was cheating on her, even when he wasn't," Penelope finished.

"Aaron did admit to me that in the last couple years of their marriage he tended to stay away from home more often, because he didn't want to get into an argument with her and from what he's told me about Haley I can't really say I blame him," JJ said shaking her head. "I'm glad that Aaron is free now though and has been for awhile because that means we can start a relationship since he's no longer married and it's been long enough now that our relationship won't be considered a rebound for him."

"Alright, I understand that the divorce was inevitable, but why would she give up parental rights to her own kids?" Penelope asked trying to understand how a mother that supposedly loved her kids could do that.

"Because Aaron threatened to take her to court when Haley wanted to take the kids with her and not let their father see them," JJ said.

"You mean she threatened to never let Aaron see his own kids?" Penelope asked blinking in astonishment. "I could understand that attitude if their father abused them, but Aaron's not that type at all."

"She did and that's when Aaron really got mad. Aaron is usually the calm, steady type, much like him actually, but if there's one thing that can truly get him mad it's to threaten his children. Aaron realized immediately that Haley was just being vindictive, trying to get back at him for all the things that he had supposedly done wrong. However, since he was a lawyer, even if it was only for a few years he knew exactly what to do to get Haley to change her mind. I don't believe that Aaron's ex-wife didn't realize that threatening not to allow him to see his children, was bound to cause him to lose his temper. I'm not saying he didn't have cause, but Aaron told me he would often get frustrated with her, but he didn't really get mad at her very often," JJ explained.

"She must have been as dumb as a bag of stones, because they were married for how many years?" Penelope asked.

"About 10 give or take a few months," JJ said.

"You would think she would realize that one of Aaron's hot buttons is to threaten to not allow him to see his children. It was very dumb of her to threaten him with the one thing guaranteed to make him furious, so I would say that she had it coming," Penelope said shaking her head. "I mean they were married for almost 10 years and you would think that she would know him well enough by that point that she would know that threatening to not let him see his kids would be one of the few things that would make him lose his temper."

"Yeah, I agree with you," JJ agreed. "I can sympathize with women who are in bad situations, because their husbands are abusive, but from all I've learned about Aaron over the last month, is that he's a wonderful father. I've seen him interacting with his children on multiple occasions now and he's always so gentle and loving. No, it's clear to me that he adores his kids and he's not in the least abusive towards them, so I have no doubt that Aaron would have won his case in court if he had gotten that far. Besides, Henry adores him and children can often sense when someone is not what they seem, you know. Luckily, Haley saw sense and didn't actually pursue it in a court of law."

"Yes, I agree with you on that, as the couple times I've seen him with his kids and he appeared to be a wonderful father," Penelope agreed immediately. "Besides, Dave is a good judge of character, and he would never work with someone that abused his kids, I guarantee it, so that just tells me that Aaron is a good man."

"I hadn't considered that angle, but you're right, I can't see Dave being friends with someone who abuses their own children," JJ agreed. "Besides, Dave loves Aaron's children to and really he's considered kind of an honorary uncle to them."

"Yeah, I know he adores Aaron kids," Penelope giggled. "I believe that he sees them as a replacement for the son he lost years ago."

"He lost a son?" JJ asked in surprise.

"I shouldn't have said that," Penelope said looking aggrieved and mad at herself.

"Well, now that the cat's out of the bag so to speak you might as well tell me," JJ said. "I promise not to say anything to Aaron or to Dave."

"I suppose so," Penelope said, still looking mad at herself. "I've known ever since I did that background check that Dave lost a son with his first wife Caroline. His name was James Daniel and he had a bad heart right from the moment he was born. He died within a few days after his birth and that's what finally broke up Dave's marriage to Caroline, although it had been on the rocks for years. Dave swore at that time that he wasn't going to have anymore children, but what he said, was said due to grief. However a friend of his convinced him that the statistics were such that it wasn't likely to happen again and that medical technology has progressed in leaps and bounds since James died and also the same thing isn't likely to happen with a different woman. Even though I knew about the death of his son in advance he confided in me not to long afterwards and that it devastated him."

"It would devastate anyone," JJ said sympathetically. JJ suddenly realized after hearing such a tragic tale it made her very grateful that Henry had been born healthy.

"Yeah, and I think that's one of the reasons he never had a child with his second wife Ruth, as he was likely still grieving for the death of his son," Penelope said. "In any case, we've agreed that as soon as we do tie the knot we're going to try to get pregnant, because I'm not getting any younger. We've already discussed having a large family, but we've also agreed to see how each pregnancy goes before we decide if we're want to go through it again. Dave is worried about it really, even if he hasn't said anything, because of what happened to James, but if the first pregnancy goes well then those fears will lessen considerably."

"I don't blame him for fearing to have another child considering what happened, even if it is with a different woman," JJ said. "The death of any child, particularly for the parents is always tragic and I'm sure Dave felt as if he had been shot in the heart, figuratively not literally in this case. I think it's really brave of him to agree to have another kid after what happened to hus son."

"Probably," Penelope agreed. "But while I'm slightly worried about it I don't fear things will go wrong, even if I know they might. Of course, I've never lost a child either so my feelings aren't as intense as Dave's are, because he still remembers every single second of James's death and the funeral afterwards. Still, I'm grateful he's willing to try again, as he might have said that he was unwilling to do that. Also I'm perfectly healthy, as I just had a checkup fairly recently so I should have no problem carrying a baby to term or giving birth. We both know that abnormalities, particularly when it comes to pregnancy happen all the time and there is often no explanation for it and it's not right or fair, but unfortunately, it happens. Also things that were incurable or uncorrectable 15 and 20 years ago, are now curable or correctable as the case might be."

"I think you're being very sensible, both of you," JJ said. "I can't really blame Dave for his fears considering, but I'm sure you'll calm him down if it gets too out of hand."

"Oh, don't worry I have the perfect way to do that," Penelope giggled.

"I'm sure you do," JJ laughed. "Girl power and all that."

"Absolutely," Penelope laughed. "Dave will never know what hit him!"

"Just make sure you take pictures or at least tell me all about it," JJ chuckled, as she imagined that scene

"I will," Penelope promised grinning. "It might even be really nice seeing Dave panic about something, since he usually always knows what to do. I doubt it will happen more than once, at least when it comes to pregnancy, as he's the type of man that learns from his experiences. Still, you're right it would be very hilarious if he does panic particularly when my giving birth draws near. Of course, it's possible he might not, but we'll just have to wait and see."

"So you're going to try to get pregnant on your wedding night?" JJ asked, remembering what her friend had said earlier.

"Yes, we are, because we can't wait to have a large family and since I'm already in my 30s... As it is I'm not going to be able to space out the pregnancies as much as I might want to. I was thinking every other year, instead of waiting two or even three years in-between pregnancies. Of course, I won't put my life in danger and I'll do whatever the doctor orders me to do and if whoever we choose to be our baby doctor tells me that I shouldn't have anymore for at least a couple years to give my body a rest that's what I'll do."

"And if they tell you shouldn't try to have anymore?" JJ asked.

"Then I won't, because Dave will never go against the advice of the doctor, although he'll probably get a second opinion. Of course, if that second opinion agrees with the first then that will be the end of it. Hopefully, that won't happen before we have at least a couple though, if it happens it all," Penelope explained what she and Dave had discussed.

"It probably won't, but you never know," JJ shrugged.

"Yes, you never know," Penelope agreed. "I'm in perfect shape though, so I'm really not worried about anything going wrong in any of my pregnancies, although I realize that the unexpected can happen and often does."

"Are we talking about you getting pregnant into your late 40s?" JJ asked hesitatingly. "I know women can do it, but pregnancy is more dangerous the older you are or at least harder on the body."

"Well, it depends if I have trouble getting pregnant or not as some women do after all. I don't expect that will be my problem, but I don't really know do I?" Penelope said. "If I have trouble getting pregnant then I want at least three children if possible, which means I might have to get pregnant into my late 40s. However, if I don't have any problems, getting pregnant and do so easily then no, I don't intend to get pregnant past 42 or 43. It depends of course, whether I have singletons or twins, because twins run in my family. It's possible I'll have at least one set of twins or I might not, though twins do run through the female line or at least that's what research seems to indicate."

"Well, if you do have at least one set of twins you won't have to get pregnant too many times to have the family you want," JJ observed, rather surprised that twins ran in Penelope's family, as it was something she had not known until now. Twins did tend to run on the female side according to all medical research, just as Penny had suggested. Who knew it might even be true.

"That's true, because Dave and I were talking at least half a dozen, even if I know that's rather a lot in this century, especially in the USA, as I know it's not the same in other countries," Penelope said.

"The only reason it's unusual as most people can't afford more than two, sometimes three," JJ observed. "Besides, some women don't want more than one or two you know, because they don't love children as much as some people do. Some women don't see the point of going through the pain of pregnancy more then once or twice."

"Well, luckily, Dave and I both love children and I suspect that if James hadn't died he and Caroline would have had at least two or three. Of course, I don't know this for a fact or anything, as it would depend on whether Caroline loved children as much as Dave does and several other factors," Penelope said.

"You know it's really nice to see you so happy, Penny," JJ told her friend. "I'm glad that you and Dave met, as he's done wonders for you."

"I am too. I'm also grateful you convinced me to give him a chance, because now I know he is my present and future." Penelope said with a rather sappy smile on her face. JJ giggled silently at her friends expression, but she couldn't really blame her for being so happy either.

"What are best friends for?" JJ asked rhetorically with a smile causing Penelope to giggle and give her friend a bear hug.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

Review!


	6. Chapter 6

Part 5

"This was such a terrific idea," Penelope sighed, as she and Dave sat on a picnic blanket on Baker's Beach, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance.

"I'm glad you think so," Dave said, as his arm automatically came up around her waist and Penelope leaned into his side. "I've enjoyed all our dates, but I thought some alone time with no one else around would be good, but in the city the size of San Francisco that's a rather difficult thing to obtain, except in your own house or apartment."

"There are places to be alone if you know where to go," Penelope told him and Dave chuckled in agreement.

"True, but most of them aren't as romantic," Dave said his warm breath tickling her ear.

"Yes, coming to the beach was a great idea," Penelope said, as she gazed out at the ocean. "You know I've lived in California all my life and yet I've never been to Baker's Beach."

"Well, a lot of times when you grow up someplace you don't think about going to actually see the sites," Dave said. "Me I moved here after I retired from the FBI. I just wanted to get away from Virginia, you know? And this seemed like the perfect place to come."

"I'm certainly glad you did," Penelope said kissing his cheek. "You've certainly changed my life for the better David Rossi."

"You've changed my life too," Dave said. "I never imagined I'd ever manage to actually fall in love again not after Caroline. I now realize that Ruth was more of a rebound then true love, not that I realized that at the time, but from the perspective of years I clearly see it for what it was."

The two fell silent and stared out over the water lost in their own thoughts.

"Yes, I do understand, because I truly thought I loved Derek after all, even though he turned out to be such a bastard," Penelope said her voice dripping with contempt.

"Let's not talk about that son of bitch," Dave suggested calmly. "Let's just concentrate on us."

"You're right," Penelope said, as she leaned her head against Dave's broad shoulder.

The two were silent for a few minutes, as they just watched the waves contemplating their future—together.

"So why don't we enjoy this delicious picnic that my housekeeper Nancy packed for us," Dave said, as he opened the picnic basket. "She's very excited that I have finally fallen in love, as she's been like a mother to me for years," Dave grinned. "She even came with me when I moved from Virginia, even though I told her that she didn't have to."

"She loves you just in a different way from how I do," Penelope told Dave. "I mean her husband is dead and her children are grown, so perhaps, she didn't have anything back in Virginia to make her stay at least not once you had decided you were moving."

"Well, whatever the reason I've always been grateful to her," Dave said. "For one thing it's saved me the trouble of having to find another housekeeper, someone I could trust and trust takes time to build."

"Believe me, I know it," Penelope said, as she cuddled into Dave's side. "I'm glad you have her actually as I hate cleaning and I won't have time to do the job properly anyway thanks to my job and the size of your place. Luckily, your house is big enough that she could still live with you once we start to have children and even help out whatever nanny we hire when she has time."

"Yeah, I know and that she's already agreed to it," Dave said. "She's very happy about our upcoming marriage. She's very excited at the thought of attending our wedding and then being there when we start to have children. I think she misses raising little ones, since her own children have been on their own for years."

"Probably," Penelope said, starting to help Dave unpack the picnic basket which was loaded with both her and Dave's favorite foods. "Well, Nancy really outdid herself."

"She even put in a bottle of wine," Dave said pleased.

"And she didn't forget the plates or the napkins or the silverware and believe me, a lot of people would've forgotten at least one of them," Penelope said.

"Not Nancy, she's too organized," Dave chuckled, kissing his lady's cheek.

"So I've noticed," Penelope chuckled. "Anyway, I really like her a lot and I'm glad you have her."

"She's already beginning to think of you as a member of the family," Dave said.

"That's good, because I want her to like me, as we'll get along better if we don't detest each other," Penelope said. "I mean she's a member of your family and has been for years, so I don't want her to feel left out or like she's losing her home or the man she likely considers another son."

"She doesn't feel that way trust me. She's really looking forward to our wedding and us starting a family," Dave assured Penelope.

"Good, because I'm really looking forward to our wedding where we'll legally become husband and wife and then starting a family to," Penelope grinned at Dave.

"That makes three of us," Dave said smiling rather sappily, as he thought about their upcoming nuptials. He had proposed on bended knee and everything and his, Penny had enthusiastically accepted. She had absolutely loved the ring that he had chosen, which was a 3 carat diamond solitaire. Penny had claimed it was too much, but had still loved the ring, she had just seemed to believe that he had spent much that was all, as 3 carat diamond ring weren't cheap after all. He had made it clear however, that he had plenty of money to spend and he'd do what he wanted with it. He had gotten used to living like he wanted to ever since he had made a success of himself and refused to buy a cheap engagement ring for the woman he loved. Now while he didn't waste his money he still spent it on what he wanted to, as he wasn't going to stint himself or Penny or eventually their children either. He would make sure his and Penny's children didn't grow up to be spoiled, rotten brats, so he would have to moderate spending too much money on them, but he was sure that his fiancée and probably Nancy would help with that so he wasn't too worried.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going on our honeymoon so I can pack the appropriate clothes?" Penelope asked her fiancé who had been rather mysterious about their honeymoon destination.

"Just pack whatever you think is appropriate and we'll buy whatever we need along the way," Dave said refusing to the reveal where they were going. "All I'm going to say is you'll need to make sure your passport is up to date, but other than that you're not getting any hints."

"Alright, fine, keep your destination a secret," Penelope chuckled knowing that they were going to some foreign country, maybe Paris, which would certainly be romantic.

"Thank you, I intended to," Dave chuckled right along with his gorgeous fiancée. He was very glad that she was taking his secrecy with good humor.

"Why don't we enjoy the food that Nancy packed for us, as I'm starting to get quite hungry," Penelope suggested.

"It sounds like a fine idea," Dave said. "Shall we feed each other, my lady?"

"Why not?" Penelope grinned at him. "I'm sure that's what Nancy intended, because there's a lot of things that we can feed each other without any trouble."

"You're probably right and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if that was here intention," Dave chuckled. "Nancy is a romantic at heart and if you also include the fact that she is ecstatic I have finally found someone to love after all these years..."

"I get the point, she's very happy that we found each other," Penelope said giggling.

"To put it mildly," Dave chuckled again. "If you heard how she went on and on about how it was time I got over Caroline and also Ruth and settle down..."

"Well, she's soon going to get her wish as the wedding is only a few weeks away," said Penelope, as she started feeding Dave little tidbits of food, before he returned the favor.

"And then I am whisking you away to our honeymoon destination, where we will have a month to do whatever we desire."

"A month is a long time for a honeymoon," Penelope commented.

"It is, and I know most people only take a couple weeks at most, but you have the leave time saved up, since you haven't had a vacation in awhile and you hardly ever take a day off unless you're really sick. As for me I'm my own boss, so I can take as much time off as I want. Most people only take a week to two, because that's all the time they can afford to take from their jobs or it might be a financial consideration, but since both of us love our jobs and you at least have great benefits, then a month is going to be no hardship on either one of us. You're lucky I didn't ask for longer than that, as I just want to keep you all to myself for as long as possible."

"I didn't say I minded," Penelope said, "just that it was a long time to be gone. I don't mind in the least really and you're right I don't ever take much time off because I'd be bored. Oh, I wouldn't be bored if I only took a day or two, but more than that..."

"You're so much like Spencer that is positively uncanny," Dave chuckled. "He likes to remain busy too and doesn't just own a sweet shop, as he does a lot of other things in order to keep his genius mind entertained. He's always writing academic papers and he's written several books to. He even lectures at the local universities every once in awhile, as he's very sought after."

"Well, he sounds even busier than I am," Penelope said. "You really have to introduce me to him, as I have a feeling we could become very good friends."

"I will," Dave promised. "It will probably be after the honeymoon though or maybe at the wedding as he is invited."

The two continued to talk softly as they went back to feeding each other little tidbits of food and also drinking several glasses of wine.

"Nancy outdid herself," Penelope murmured. "I'll have to seriously thank her next time I see her."

"Yes, she did," Dave agreed. "I love you Penelope Garcia, I hope you realize that."

"I do," Penelope said, "and I love you too. Trust me, if I didn't I never would have dated you for so long or agreed to marry you."

"Well, I'm certainly glad that you got over your fear relationships," Dave grinned.

"So am I, but you certainly help with that as did JJ," Penelope said. "She encouraged me to give you a chance and told me that if I didn't and I would regret it, so I'm certainly glad I listened to her."

"I'm certainly glad you did too," Dave told her tenderly, as he kissed the love of his life.

The two of them kissed for sometime then turned to watch with fresh glasses of wine in their hands, as the sun finished setting over the ocean. This place would always be magical for both of them.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"So you couldn't wiggle your honeymoon destination out him," JJ chuckled.

"No, I'm afraid not he wanted to keep it as a surprise. All he told me he was to make sure my passport was good, so that means somewhere outside the States, but otherwise he refused to say," Penelope said clearly frustrated.

"Don't let it frustrate you so much I'm sure he has everything planned out," JJ said.

"I'm only frustrated, because I don't know what to pack. I don't know whether I need to pack summer weight clothes or winter weight ones," Penelope said explaining why she was so frustrated.

"I wouldn't worry about it and just pack some of each," JJ suggested.

"I suppose so," Penelope sighed. "He's already said that we'll buy anything we need, although that's going to be mostly me I'm sure, since he refuses to tell me where we're going, as really all I know is it's somewhere overseas."

"I know it's frustrating Penny, but Dave just wants to surprise you so I would go along," JJ said.

"Alright, I'll try to relax," Penelope said.

"Good, because you've been stressed enough with wedding plans," JJ said, "even with my help."

"Well, at least Kevin Lynch has finally quit pestering me, although he looked devastated when he heard I was getting married," Penelope chuckled. "He actually tried to convince me that Dave was all wrong for me."

"Persistent little bugger, isn't he?" JJ chuckled.

"Yeah, he is, but I think he'll finally leave me alone now," Penelope said. "It will be a nice change of pace if he does."

"He's been bothering you for quite awhile and I would've thought he had would have given up a long time ago," JJ commented.

"You would think," Penelope agreed. "I think he was asking hoping I was just playing hard to get, but while he's very intelligent just like I am he's also annoying. Besides, Dave is very intelligent to, even if it's not about computers and technology. Oh, well, it doesn't matter anymore. I'm marrying Dave and I'm really looking forward to it, which was not something I thought I'd ever say, not after Derek," Penelope said. "My only regret is I didn't meet Dave before I got involved with Derek in the first place."

"You should just be grateful that you met him at all," JJ told Penelope trying to pull her out of her melancholy mood, as her friend should be vibrating with excitement since she was soon getting married to a man she loved after all.

"You're right," Penelope said cheering up because she loved Dave so much. "Kevin Lynch doesn't matter anymore and I'm sure Dave will deal with him if he keeps persisting me after we get married."

"I don't think he will, because most people won't go after a married woman, especially someone like a computer geek," JJ suggested. "Yes, I know some women or men don't take someone being married as a signal to back off, but most people like Kevin Lynch or you or me for that matter won't go after someone who's already taken. A wedding ring deters a lot of people, although not everyone I realize."

"Well, to get off the subject of Kevin Lynch who will be mincemeat if he continues to persist. If he doesn't I might just threaten to turn his personal computer, into something resembling rancid Swiss cheese. Trust me, to a computer geek that's a serious threat indeed and you know I would have no trouble hacking into his computer at home."

"Man, you can be vindictive, can't you?" JJ fake shivered.

"Let's just say I'm really tired of his persistence, as I've put up with it for over a year now," said Penelope. "At first he was amusing, but now he's just a major annoyance."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, no matter what you tell some men they still won't back off," JJ said.

"Some men are incredibly dense and either don't take the hint for what it is or miss the hint entirely and Mr. Kevin Lynch falls squarely into the second category," Penelope said. "But to truly change the subject this time and also talk about something much more pleasant... thanks to your help everything is arranged now, and everyone should have their invitations. I've gotten my dress, ordered a cake, hired a catering staff for the reception, ordered flowers," Penelope added ticking off on her fingers all the details she had taken care of.

"Yes, everything's been arranged," JJ agreed dropping the subject of Kevin Lynch. "Aaron is Dave's best man and I'm your bridesmaid, while everybody else are guests."

"I didn't really see a reason for more than the best man and one bridesmaid, as I don't need a whole entourage," Penelope said.

"You wanted to keep it fairly simple and the wedding part fairly small, which is your prerogative," JJ said.

"Yeah, although it is going to be a fairly big wedding, because there is over a hundred guests, mostly Dave's business associates, friends or acquaintances. He's the one that knows a lot of people, not me. Still, the actual ceremony is going to be short and sweet no more than 15 minutes and then it will be over."

"No, it will be just beginning for you and Dave," JJ corrected and Penelope nodded enthusiastically.

"Absolutely, which I'm really looking forward to, not so much the wedding night, as Dave and I have been having sex for sometime now, but the starting our lives together, definitely," said Penelope.

"I can definitely understand that," JJ agreed, "because you've had a hard time finding true love."

"I've definitely found it now," Penelope ginned happily.

"That you have," JJ agreed. "Really you should be looking forward to the wedding night, because didn't you say that you were going to try to get pregnant right away?"

"Alright, you have a point, as I did say that," Penelope said remembering that conversation. "In fact, I've already decided that I'm going to stop taking birth control about a week from now when it's only a few days until the wedding, as I want to make sure that they effects are totally out of my system before our wedding night. Of course, if I get pregnant a few days before the wedding nobody will be able to tell."

"That's probably a good idea, because you'll have a better chance of getting pregnant on your wedding night if you're sure those birth control pills are totally out of your system," JJ approved. "You're right if you get pregnant a few days early it doesn't matter, because nobody will ever know it, except you and Dave of course, oh, and the doctor."

"I know," Penelope giggled. "Why do you think I'm going to do it that way? If I had decided to stop taking them say a month ago and I had gotten pregnant right away then people would be able to count the days between the wedding in the birth, but a few days isn't going to be noticeable."

"Who cares what people think anyway, as a lot of them are too nosy for their own good," JJ snorted knowing this from experience. "If you knew how many people had commented about Aaron dating again when he hadn't dated in a couple years anyway you would be astonished, although I'll be the first to admit it was mostly woman. Trust me, a lot of the women that live in his neighborhood looked rather disappointed that he was dating again and I suspect they probably wanted him for themselves."

"They should've made a move then," Penelope told JJ who totally agree with that sentiment. "Aaron might very well not have given them the time of day, but they don't know because they didn't try."

"Some of them did try or at least that's what Aaron told me, but it was too soon after Haley's betrayal, so Aaron turned them down, politely of course, as he's nearly always polite. If they had been smart they would've waited at least a few months when his ex-wife's betrayal wasn't quite so sharp, as Aaron isn't the type of man to jump right into another relationship," JJ said.

"So he just met you at the right time, when he was probably starting to think about dating again," Penelope said and JJ nodded

"Yep, some of those women that are around his age in his neighborhood jumped the gun and because they did they paid for it," JJ said. "Who knows if our relationship will lead into anything permanent or not, as we're both taking it slow. Aaron isn't one to rush into anything on a normal basis and he's being even more careful now, because his ex-wife's betrayal is still fresh in his memory, even though it's been over two years, something I can definitely understand."

"You don't forget that kind of thing anytime soon, even if you do eventually put it to the back of your mind," Penelope said JJ nodded.

"I know Aaron's sons miss their mother, particularly the oldest two as Ben is 9, Jack is 6, while Kyle is only 3 and therefore, is too young to realize that his mother is gone. He probably won't even remember her, by the time he's a teenager," JJ said.

"It's sad, but it happens sometimes, to much really," Penelope said shaking her head.

"Unfortunately true," JJ sighed. "It's not that I'm not grateful that Aaron and I met or that he was free to pursue a relationship with me, I just feel sorry for his boys that's all."

"Yes, I understand that I feel sorry for them to. Really in a way Kyle is the lucky one, because he won't remember his mother, except maybe very vaguely," Penelope said. "If you and Aaron do get married you'll be the only mother that Kyle has ever known."

"We'll see," JJ said. "If Aaron and I do tie the knot it won't be anytime soon, since both of us are really cautious where relationships are concerned, as both of us have been burned at least once."

"So was I and yet I fell for Dave like a ton of bricks," Penelope said. "Our relationship proceeded faster than I could possibly imagine, as Dave broke down all my reservations, just by being the kind of man he is and all the dates and gifts were just extra."

Penelope began to look dreamy, beginning to think about her upcoming nuptials with the man she'd loved, but JJ easily pulled her back just by pinching her arm.

"What was that for?" Penelope protested.

"That was the stop you from going off into Lala land," JJ told her with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You can dream about your future with Dave all you want once I leave."

"Alright fine," Penelope pouted, knowing JJ was right, though she wasn't about to admit it.

"As I was abut to say before you started to drift off, you were just ready to have another relationship and actually fall in love, even if you didn't realize it until the two of you met," JJ said. "You're not the type of person that does well alone. You had me sure, but it's not the same as being in a relationship and actually having sex with a warm body. I mean you could've had one night stands..."

"I did that a few times, before Derek," Penelope said, "but one night stands aren't really my thing. I prefer men that have staying power for at least a few months anyway."

"Well, I would say you found a man with staying power and not just for a few months," JJ grinned, extremely happy for her friend.

"Don't think I don't know how lucky I was," Penelope said, grinning thinking about her fiancé. "I'm definitely looking forward to the future, which I wasn't before I met Dave, as you know. All I did after Derek's betrayal was go to work, come home, perhaps, do a little shopping, but there certainly wasn't any enthusiasm in anything I did do. It was like I was a robot."

"Believe me, I know where you don't realize how much you've changed since you met Dave. You had closed yourself off, stopped yourself from experiencing so many things, not that I can blame you considering," JJ said seriously. "I'm very happy things worked out for you. I was hoping it would, but you can never tell how a relationship is going to go."

"I'm certainly glad things worked out too," Penelope grinned.

"Of course you are, because you're about to marry the man of your dreams," JJ told her. "So are you going to move into his house before the wedding or afterwards?"

"Dave wants me to move in right away and I probably will," Penelope said. "I'm practically over there all the time anyway, as his place is much bigger than my apartment and he has every conceivable comfort, big screen TV, DVD player with a load of DVDs, you know a lot of technological toys. He also has a housekeeper that came with him all the way from Virginia when he moved here. Nancy's very enthusiastic that the man she considers a son is finally getting married again. She's practically been a mother to him for years."

"Well, I would go ahead and move in," JJ said smiling. "It's not like you're a virgin and have to protect your virginity until you actually tie the knot."

"That is so true," Penelope giggled looking so happy she glowed. "I think I will as I really miss Dave and I'm sure he's the same way and we are getting married in just a couple of weeks. Who cares what other people think about me moving in a little earlier. Besides, men and women live together all the time whether or not they ever get married and Dave and I actually are getting married. Besides, it will save us considerable trouble later, when we'd rather be doing other things."

"Quit rationalizing it and just do it," JJ said grinning at her friend. "You don't have to rationalize your reasons to me, as believe me, I understand, even if Aaron and I haven't gotten to the point yet. Neither one of us would be comfortable with me moving into his house at this time."

"You'll get there, as I have a good feeling about your relationship," Penelope said. "So what if you're not as far along as Dave and I were at this point? Every relationship is different and people need to go at their own speed. There's no need to rush things along and possibly ruin what the two of you are building."

"Sound advice," JJ said taking her friend's advice seriously.

"Take it from one who knows," Penelope intoned solemnly.

"I suppose you do know what you were talking about," JJ said after a moment of surprise at her friends solemn tone.

"Of course I do," Penelope said seriously and when JJ stared at her in surprise she burst into giggles unable to continue being so serious.

"Oh, you," JJ said punching her friend in the on gently. "You really had me going for a second there."

"Well, if I could contain my laughter I could really get you going," Penelope said mischievously.

"Probably," JJ said.

The two of them chatted for a few more minutes before JJ left for home, but both were really looking forward to the wedding in just two weeks.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

Reviews!


	7. Chapter 7

Part 6

"Welcome home, my lady," Dave said gesturing grandly. "I am so looking forward to our wedding."

"Me too," Penelope promised him, as she kissed his cheek. "I'm just bursting with excitement, as I really can't wait until we're officially wed."

"And once we are, I'm going to sweep you away on a honeymoon that I have no doubt you'll love," Dave said looking mysterious.

"You still aren't going to tell me where we're going?" Penelope asked, cuddling up to him and kissing the side of his neck, trying to get him to reveal what he had planned for their honeymoon.

"No, you're not going to get it out of me and it won't be long before you know anyway," Dave said resisting his fiancée's attempt to get him to reveal where they were going for the honeymoon with great difficulty. His, Penelope was sex on legs and he had often wondered if she realized it or if it was just something unconscious that she still used to her fullest advantage, likely also unconsciously.

"Yeah, it's only a few days," Penelope said dreamily and Dave just had to kiss her, because it was clear that his fiancée could hardly wait to tie the knot, but then neither could he. He hadn't been this excited about anything in years and he went into work every day with a spring in his step, which his small staff had noticed. Emily, Aaron and his secretary Alice were very happy about his upcoming wedding, Aaron in particular because if Dave had never met Penelope then Aaron probably never would've met JJ. Now there was a relationship that amused him no end, mostly because he knew that if he had never met the love of his life then Aaron likely never would've met JJ who was a wonderful person and a good match for his friend. It was also clear that Aaron's sons adored JJ and children could often sense when somebody wasn't what they seemed. Of course, the reverse was also true and Henry adored Aaron and got along well with his three sons and they had become great friends, so even if the relationship didn't last he knew JJ and Aaron were determined to make sure their sons stayed friends at least.

"So my lady, why don't you just make yourself at home?" Dave suggested. "All your stuff, except for your furniture has already been moved in."

"Well, my furniture would hardly fit the style of the house," Penelope said. "Besides, there's no room for it anyway. I realized a long time ago that I'm going to have to make certain accommodations, as I can't have everything my way. JJ gave me a lecture awhile back about how I was getting married that I needed to give in on some things, as compromise is the cornerstone of any relationship, much less a marriage."

"Believe me, I know, as that was something that Caroline and I almost never did, although I realize it was largely my fault, as I didn't pay enough attention to her needs. On the other side of the argument though, Caroline didn't really tell me what she needed, but even if she had I'm not sure I would have listened back then. I was young, stupid at least where it concerned relationships and also arrogant. I thought I had to have everything my way."

"You're different now and that's all that matters to me," Penelope told him, as she kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, we live and learn," Dave said sounding philosophical. "Now may I escort you upstairs my lady? Would you like a nice bath in the Jacuzzi tub? Or would you like to do something else?"

"A nice hot soak sounds heavenly," Penelope said. She had really come to appreciate the Jacuzzi tub that Dave had installed in the master bath and had used it on several occasions already once her and Dave's relationship had progressed to where she didn't mind spending the night at his place.

"Then that's what it shall be," Dave said solicitously. "I hope you don't mind if I join you."

"Of course not, you're always welcome, you know that and the Jacuzzi is certainly big enough for two," Penelope assured kissing him, on the lips this time.

The two made their way upstairs and once in the master bath Dave turned on the faucet, and it started to fill quickly. Both go undressed as the bath filled and once it had Dave helped Penelope over the side to make sure she didn't slip and then followed her into the hot water.

"This is wonderful," Penelope sighed in content, as she soaked in the hot water. "I probably could've fallen in love with you for your Jacuzzi alone if I had happened to see it, before we had gotten to know each other."

Dave said nothing simply relaxed beside her.

The two were silent for a few minutes and then Penelope finally opened her brown eyes to look at Dave's handsome form that was sitting as close to her as he could get and their hands were actually clasped together under the water. Penelope certainly didn't mind, as she craved the contact. She had become so lonely, as she'd had no one, except for her friend JJ, so she was certainly happy that JJ had convinced her to not break it off due to fear, as she had never been this happy in her entire life.

"You know I stopped taking my birth control pills a few days ago," Penelope told Dave whose eyes popped open at that statement

"You did?" Dave asked looking at his fiancée

"Yep, I wanted to make sure the drugs were out of my system completely before our honeymoon," Penelope said with a mysterious smile.

"Does that mean you want to try to get pregnant before the wedding in a few days?" Dave asked excitedly.

"I could already be pregnant for all I know, as just because our wedding is upcoming doesn't mean we stopped making love," Penelope said.

"True," Dave grinned, not at all upset with what he was hearing. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise and I was waiting for the right time," Penelope explained. "I just figured that if I stopped taking those birth control pills about a week before the wedding that if I got pregnant beforehand, nobody was going to notice if the baby was conceived a few days before the actual ceremony. If I had say stopped taking them a month before we got married and I got pregnant, people would've been able to tell that the baby was born before the actual wedding date and a lot of them would have made the assumption that was why you were marrying me whether true or not. But a week won't really matter and we'll just tell people that I got pregnant on our wedding night if anybody asks."

"You are absolutely brilliant, my love," Dave told up obviously happy with what he was hearing.

"Thank you," Penelope said blushing, knowing that Dave was being very sincere and wasn't just complimenting her without meaning the words.

"You're welcome," Dave said, as he just the love of his life. "So I suppose there is no way to to tell at this early stage if you are indeed pregnant."

"Well, if I don't have my period in a week, as it's usually pretty regular, then that's a good indication that I am indeed pregnant, but since there are other things that can disrupt it, it's not a sure indicator," Penelope said. "However, we'll just have to wait and see."

"A week's not too long to wait," Dave grinned very happy at the possibility that his lady love might be pregnant.

"It's only a possibility, as I very well might not be pregnant," Penelope warned. "I have no idea how fertile I am since I've never had a child of my body and every woman's fertility differs."

"I'm just choosing to look on the positive side and imagine that you are indeed pregnant," Dave told her the grin refusing to leave his face. "I might be a little disappointed if you turn out not to be, but we'll just keep trying if that's the case."

"Okay, just so long as you're aware that it's only a possibility at this point," Penelope said relaxing. "I'm not saying I'm not pregnant, because I very well might be..."

"I do understand," Dave told Penelope gently, as he rubbed her still flat belly being able to imagine that there was a child growing in there very easily. "Sometimes such things take time and I understand that, trust me. Don't go putting pressure on yourself, because if there's anything that's going to prevent you from getting pregnant it's that. It's been well documented that a woman who puts pressure on herself to get pregnant within a certain amount of time often has trouble conceiving. What happens will happen and we'll just take what comes."

"Alright, I won't put any pressure on myself," Penelope said relaxing completely. "You're right, if there's one sure way to stop a woman from conceiving it's putting a imaginary pressure on herself to actually do so. I'm not saying I don't really want a baby, because you know I do, but if I don't stress myself out then I'm more likely to conceive."

"I love you so much, Penny," Dave told her sincerely, as he was suddenly in front of her taking her into his arms.

"I love you too," Penelope promised Dave tenderly, as she went willingly into his embrace. The two simply stood in the middle of the Jacuzzi, the water coming up over their knees, holding each other for sometime. Finally, Dave gave her a rather lustful and needy look and Penelope caved immediately.

"Take me," Penelope commanded and Dave was on her less then a second later, gently urging her to sit back down.

"Relax, let me do the work," Dave told her softly, kissing her neck and then her breasts, which were only partly above water.

The two of them made love right there in the water and Penelope realized nearly immediately that they would likely be doing it this way often, because it was certainly a different experience than doing it on Dave's nice big, soft bed. Although she supposed that really it was their bed now, not just his. Them making love in the water was more sensual somehow as the liquid seemed to caress their bodies while Dave made love to her, with very little participation on her part, as she couldn't really do much with the position she was in.

Finally her climax came sometime later and so did Dave's, although he was buried in her body by that time and she felt it as he spurted his seed into her.

"That was even more spectacular than normal," Penelope said finally, once she was sure she could actually speak.

"I'm glad you think so," Dave grinned smugly. "Don't worry it's something we'll be repeating often over the years of our marriage, as I certainly enjoyed myself."

"So did I," Penelope was quick to assure him. "You have magic hands, but then I've known that for sometime."

"Why thank you," Dave said grinning mischievously. "My hands, or any other part of my body are always at your service, my lady."

Penelope giggled at that, mostly because she knew Dave was being very sincere.

"I have you at my mercy," Penelope teased him.

"That you do," Dave readily agreed. "If you knew how much teasing I have endured, because I'm always going to work with a spring in my step and a rather sappy grin on my face, then you would feel sorry for me."

"I doubt it, as I've endured the same treatment mostly from JJ, although a lot of the people that I work with have teased me about it to, but mostly in a good-natured way," Penelope told him. "I don't mind teasing really, as it tells me that everybody's happy for me, for us. I've gone to work myself with a spring in my step for the last few weeks and it is rather difficult to keep the rather lovesick grin off my face, so you see we're in the same boat."

"Just think once the wedding is over in a few days we have a month just you and me," Dave said, as he smirked at the thought. "I'm sure you'll love all the arrangements I've made."

"Well, since I don't know what those are, how do I know?" Penelope said.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you will," Dave said refusing to give his fiancée anymore information. "And if you don't for some reason well our plans are changeable, as I made sure of that."

"I'm sure I'll love whatever you have planned," Penelope said. "I can hardly wait actually."

"It won't be long now even if I know it will seem like an eternity," Dave said.

"Yes, the last few days are going to be really hard, because the time is going to seem to pass so slow," Penelope agreed.

"I'll do my best to keep us both distracted, so that the time will seem to go faster," Dave promised with a playful leer causing Penelope to giggle at him

"Don't think I don't know exactly what you have in mind and really I don't mind in the least," Penelope assured him. "Of course, they're going to be sometimes that you not going to be able to make love to me, but they won't be very often."

"Don't worry I'm well aware of a woman's menstrual cycle, as I was married twice before if you remember and we were just discussing that very subject anyway. There're other ways I can satisfy us both that don't involve penetration you know, so quit worrying," Dave told her.

"I'll try," Penelope promised, "but really you're the first serious relationship that I've ever had one where I actually considered marriage or at least the first one that my feelings are returned."

Dave knew that his fiancée was referring to her relationship she'd before the two of them had met. Unfortunately, that son of a bitch had done her self-confidence some serious damage. The relationship with him had done a lot to correct the damage, but Penny still had issues and he didn't blame her for that.

"Well, we might love each other and have learned a great deal about each other in the last few months, but we'll be learning each other foibles for the foreseeable future. I suspect that in a year or two, once we've been living together for awhile you won't worry, so much about upsetting me over something so minor. However, the fact that we love each other will make this relationship work so long as we remember to keep the common ground that we have now."

"Don't worry I've already had this lecture from JJ," Penelope assured Dave with a grin. "Since I only intend to be married once I have no intention of not letting you know I love you everyday. I will never allow myself to get so busy that I totally ignore you."

"Well then, you're ahead of the game and you don't even have a previous marriage to help you," Dave said pleased.

"Really, I'm just going by how my parents were when I was a child," Penelope said. "I've been remembering more and more about their relationship and how much they loved each other. We never had very much money, so if I hadn't gotten a scholarship to college for instance I never would've been able go, but still they never let their love fade and really all JJ did was remind me of that."

"Yeah, that sounds like my own parents," Dave said looking reminiscent. "They've been dead for years now and I still miss them, although not as much as I used to."

"Yeah, my parents have been dead for a long time too," Penelope said. "I'm sad that they'll never have a chance to see me get married or meet their grandchildren, but I know they would be happy that I've finally found someone to love."

"Even though he's nearly 15 years old then their daughter?" Dave asked.

"I don't think so, because there was quite an age gap between my parents," said Penelope, "even if it was more unusual back then to marry someone who was so much older. They would just have wanted me to be happy and so long as they were sure that you genuinely loved me and could provide for me then I don't think your age would have bothered them too much.

"My mother used to say that love came in all shapes and sizes and it didn't necessarily matter what age your spouse was so long as you loved each other. I think she came up with that saying, because her own parents, my grandparents definitely disapproved of my father, mainly because not only was he from a poor family, but the age difference was about eight years. I think it was more the fact that my father wasn't what my grandparents had envisioned their daughter marrying, as they were much better off financially, although not rich or anything. I think they hoped that she would go to college, perhaps, have career and make more money then they did. My parents both worked and were paid well for the time, but neither of them went to college. Personally, I think they did pretty well for themselves considering that you almost need to have a college education nowadays, you know?"

"There're some things that you can't learn by going to college, that really you can only learn by living your life," Dave said. "A college education is good, but some people succeed in life even without one, and this was particularly true back in the 40s, 50s and 60s. Nowadays, you almost have to have a college education to get a good paying job, but back in those days not so much. Personally, I know people look down on others when they admit that they never went to college, but to me that's just silly and stupid. Just because you never went to college does not mean you're not intelligent and able to make your own way, even if it does help, particularly in this century."

"Well, I think it's time we get out of here before we really start to wrinkle like prunes, don't you think?" Penelope suggested, as she looked at her skin which was beginning to look all pruney.

"Yeah, we probably should," Dave said languidly. "I'm so comfortable though that I really don't want to move."

"So we can do this again sometime," Penelope suggested. "I certainly enjoyed myself and I'm certainly not against repeating the experience. I suspect we'll do this at least once a week or so even after we have children."

"That's a definite possibility," Dave said grinning, as he imagined that. "As for right now you're right we really do need to get out of this water before we both fall asleep right here."

"That would certainly be easy to do, because the hot water has a way of totally relaxing you and making you sleepy if you stay in too long," Penelope agreed, as she started to rise.

Dave also got to his feet and made sure that he was there in case Penelope slipped, which was incredibly easy to do on a wet surface if one wasn't careful.

"Thank you," Penelope said politely, as Dave helped her out of the tub.

"You're welcome," Dave promised her. "Trust me, I know how easy it is to slip on a wet floor, as it happened to me once. I was lucky I didn't break anything, so I've been cautious ever since."

"I don't blame you, because one tumble like that and you could've broke several bones or worse," Penelope agreed.

"Well, the most likely possibility is just bumps and bruises, which is what happened to me," Dave said. "Now if you take a tumble down the stairs it's different. Most of the time if that happens all you end up with is a conk on the noggin and bumps and bruises. Once in awhile you wind up with a broken bone, but some people land wrong and break their necks. This is especially true of children, as sometimes their balance isn't all it should be when they are young."

"I think we should make a rule right now that when our children start walking they're not allowed to come down the steps by themselves until we're sure that they're not going to take a tumble," Penelope suggested immediately. "I can't help imagining our son or daughter falling down the stairs and breaking their necks."

"I agree with that," Dave said immediately. "I'll make sure I tell Nancy and whatever nanny we hire our decision. Of course, not all children have unstable balance when they are young, but still I think it's a good rule to put into place to prevent any accidents. It's one of those things that might not happen, but on the other hand, why take chances? Really at best we would probably be paying a visit to the emergency room to have a bone set and I don't want to think about the worst case scenario. I've already lost one son, I don't think I could take losing anymore."

"So we do what we can to prevent such things from happening," Penelope said soothingly understanding Dave's fears. "The likelihood of anything happening in any of our children are so low I wouldn't worry about it too much."

Dave nodded seeming to come back to himself.

"Your fears are only natural, since all you already lost one son, even if that was years ago," added Penelope. "However, I know because of what happened you can't help worrying about any child we have."

"No, I can't, but you're likely right and our children will grow up happy and healthy, so I'll try not to let my fear show," Dave promised.

"I don't mind, as I don't want you to keep them bottled up as that is very healthy for you," Penelope told him firmly. "Keeping your feelings bottled up isn't good for your health and can cause numerous medical problems. I'm not going to demand you see a psychologist, but I do want you talk to me about any fears you have, just like I do you. Trust me, I hadn't told anyone about my previous bad relationship, except for JJ, mostly because she's such a good friend. Yet I did so with you when I had hardly known you anytime at all, as some instinct told me I could trust you. Please show me the same respect, as you don't have to be the big, strong, silent type with me."

"Alright, you're right," Dave conceded, as he thought about his fiancée's words. "Talking about our fears and any worries we have is a good way to maintain our relationship, because it shows we trust one another."

"And it's also better for your health in general, as I don't want you developing an ulcer or have a heart attack or stroke due to all the stress you're putting your body under, as the human body was only designed to take so much. I want you around for many years to come," Penelope told him sincerely.

It gave Dave a nice warm glow to know that his soon-to-be wife cared so much for him and it didn't matter that he had been on his own for years it was nice to be cared for by someone else. Something he hadn't felt ever since the beginning of his and Caroline's marriage, which had been many years ago.

"Of course, you exercising like you do is a good place to start, but still let's try to keep the stress to a minimum, shall we?" Penelope suggested. "I'm not saying a little bit of stress now and then is going to hurt you, it's the constant stress I'm worried about, as you worry about things that cannot be changed. There's no reason to worry about the kids falling down the stairs for example, because we'll take the precautions. And there's no reason to worry about the baby before it's even born or me, as I'm in perfect health according to my doctor at my last checkup. Don't put stress on yourself for things that haven't happened yet and probably won't."

"I never used to be such a worrywart," Dave told her tenderly, as the two of them stood buck naked beside the tub, "but then I was a lot younger when I was married to Caroline and wasn't as aware of the many things that can happen just by living your life. You have quickly become so important to me then I can just help imagining all the bad things that could happen, but likely won't."

"Well, tell your imagination to give you a break," Penelope told Dave her good humor restored. "It needs to quit feeding you so many horrible scenarios."

"I told you I'll try. I suspect that a lot of my fears will disappear once the baby's actually here if you are indeed pregnant," Dave said. "You're also right that we can take precautions, but mainly what I'm worried about is we won't think of something and then something will happen to our child."

"Let's not worry about it until we absolutely have to," Penelope said, knowing a good way to distract him from his concerns.

"Here since we're already butt naked why don't you take me on our nice comfortable bed," Penelope suggested with a sultry pout.

"Now there's an idea," Dave said brightening immediately, his fears and worries taking a backseat as his lust and love begin to rise within him.

"Well then, why don't we get started then," Penelope said, as she walked sexily towards the bathroom door Dave watching her with lust in his eyes every step of the way.

"Here let me," Dave said, as he stepped forward quickly in order to catch up with Penelope and as soon as he reached his fiancée he swept her up into his arms and carried her the rest of the way into the bedroom.

Penelope simply giggled and snuggled into her fiancé's arms contently and it was only a few seconds later that she was placed on the king-size bed.

"Well, as much as we've been making love with no type of protection if you aren't pregnant I'll be very surprised," Dave said grinning down at her.

"Me too, but at this point there is no way to tell," Penelope said, as she leaned up just enough to kiss her fiancé.

"I know, but I have a feeling a very strong one that you are indeed pregnant. I mean you're still a young woman, and I know I'm older than you, but a man's seed never stops being viable, so he can get a dozen women pregnant throughout his life if he really cared to."

"You're quite young to, particularly for this century as people can live up to 90 or even 100 nowadays," Penelope said.

"Yes, that's true," Dave agreed. "I know it helps that I kept myself in shape to."

The two fell silent as Dave started to make love to his fiancée again.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride," The priest announced.

This was something that Dave was happy to do and so kissed Penelope briefly not wanting to get involved in a major smooching session, although pulling away was rather difficult, but he forced himself. He would save the more serious kisses for when they were finally alone after the reception.

The look on Penelope's face let Dave know that she didn't think the kiss was enough either, but there was no point of giving the audience a reason to laugh, because they got too involved. They would have to save their more serious kissing for the honeymoon suite that had been rented at one of the best hotels in the city for the night, before they flew out in the morning.

"Ladies and gentlemen I am honored to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs David Rossi."

All the guests clapped and cheered.

"Congratulations," Aaron said coming forward, shaking Dave's hand and giving Penelope a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you," Dave said grinning happily.

"I bet you're really looking forward to the honeymoon," Aaron smirked.

"We are, but he refused to tell me where we are going," Penelope said shooting a look at Dave.

"Is it so wrong of me to want to keep it a surprise?" Dave inquired of his friend.

"I'm not going to answer that on the grounds that it might get me in trouble," Aaron said, as JJ came over to the three of them.

Dave smirked at that, as it was exactly the answer he expected. Aaron was too nice to get involved in answering such a question, especially with his girlfriend so close by.

"That's smart," JJ smirked at them having heard the whole conversation. "Congratulations Penny, Dave."

"Thank you," Dave and Penelope said together.

"You two need to go and enjoy yourselves, as this is your wedding day after all," JJ added, "but before you do there's pictures to be taken."

Penelope and Dave nodded, as they did want a remembrance of their wedding day, so went over to where the professional photographer was waiting with JJ and Aaron following since they were part of the wedding party.

It only took half an hour to get their pictures taken, as the photographers was quite good and once they were finally released Dave and Penny made their way out to the dance floor.

"This is wonderful," Penelope sighed, as she danced in Dave's arms.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, as I certainly am," Dave told her, as he kissed her cheek. "Meeting you was one of the best day's in my life."

Penelope said nothing about kissed him on the lips briefly to let him know that she understood.

"I wish we could already get out of here," Penelope said looking wistful.

"Just a few more hours, my lady and then it will be over," Dave promised. "Believe me, I wish we could get out of here to, but we can't leave quite yet, as much as we both might want to. For one thing our room at the Hyatt won't be ready until at least seven, so there's no point in going anywhere until then. We might as well enjoy dancing and eat some of the food that's over on the table. If you're still hungry once we do get settled into our suite for the night then we can go somewhere and get something or order room service."

"Well, we'll see," Penelope said. "Right now though, I am starved, as I didn't eat much breakfast this morning, I was to nervous."

"Nervous about marrying me?" Dave asked a little anxiously.

"No, worried that I'd mess up somehow, flub my lines, trip, that kind of thing," Penelope admitted candidly. "Besides, it's kind of traditional to be nervous on your wedding day, but the ceremony went off without a hitch, so I'm not nervous anymore."

"Yes, I suppose it is," Dave admitted relaxing.

"I could never be nervous about marrying you," Penelope told him with a smile that lit up her entire face, as she gazed at the gorgeous man that she was dancing with.

The song ended and Dave took Penelope's hand and led her over to where the food was located.

"Oh, it all looks so good," Penelope said, as she gazed at what food was available.

"Well, why don't you try a little bit of everything," Dave said then added with a smirk. "Trust me, you'll need your energy for what I have planned for later."

"I don't know that my stomach can hold a little of everything, but I'm certainly going to try," said Penelope, as she began to fill her plate. Once she was done filling her plate, she went to one of the tables that had been setup and sat down. Dave of course, followed her and sat at her side with his own plate of food.

"You know Sean was happy that you chose him to be one of the caterers," Dave commented.

"Well, the food at Sophie's is really good, since you've taken me there a few times and I wanted to variety from several different places," Penelope said. "I've been to a lot of fine restaurants with you ever since we started seeing each other, so I knew already what restaurants I wanted to cater our reception. Of course, JJ was an enormous help and I'm not sure I could have had everything ready in time without her, not between working and spending so much time with you."

"Yes, it's nice to have people help you out, particularly for a big event like a wedding," Dave agreed. "I'm glad you had her to help you out, because planning something as big as a wedding, well, it either would have taken much longer or you would have exhausted yourself trying to get it all done in time."

The two continued to chat as they ate their plates of food and then Dave offered Penelope his hand. "Ready for some more dancing, my lady?"

"Well, now that my stomach has stopped growling, yes," Penelope laughed, accepting her husband's offered hand.

Husband! Penelope thought in her head excitedly. She could hardly believe that she and Dave were officially married. Husband and wife! She was aware however, that the unreality of her actually being married, would wear off in a few days, or perhaps, a few weeks at most. She had dreamed about being married to someone she'd love just like her parents had been, but after what happened with the 'bastard who would remain nameless', she had figured that her chances of ever being a bride were practically nil. She was very glad that she had been wrong about that, as she had never been happier.

Dave let her back out onto the dance floor and the two of them started to dance again and neither realized that the time was passing rapidly to caught up in each other and before they knew it a couple of hours had passed.

"I need to get off my feet," Penelope told Dave who nodded.

"Yeah me too," Dave said checking his watch. "Looks like we've been dancing a couple of hours."

"That long?" Penelope asked in surprise. "It sure doesn't seem like that long to me."

"Well, it's often said that when you're enjoying yourself time flies and that is definitely true in this case," Dave grinned.

"I had no idea I could dance the night away, but then I suppose all it takes is the right partner to make the time simply fly away, as if it had wings," Penelope giggled.

"Well, now you know, so we'll have to do this again at a club or something," Dave said. "Believe me, I've enjoyed dancing with you."

"I could say the same about you," Penelope told him giving his hand a squeeze of affection and Dave shot her an adoring look.

The two of them departed the dance floor and went to sit at one of the tables, as their feet were killing them, particularly Penelope's who was in high heels.

"Is it time to leave yet?" Penelope asked.

"It won't be long now," Dave promised. "Just another hour and we can get out of here."

"It can't pass fast enough for me," Penelope said, as she leaned her head on Dave shoulder.

"Tired?" Dave asked solicitously.

"A little, but I'm certainly looking forward to when we get to the hotel," Penelope said.

"So am I and believe me, I have plans," said Dave mysteriously.

"I'm sure you do," Penelope laughed. "Plans I'm looking forward to."

The two of them chatted softly and the hour passed faster than Penelope in particular expected it to.

"Time to go," Dave said looking at his watch.

"Finally," Penelope exclaimed, rising to her feet.

"Just let me tell Aaron we are leaving and he'll inform everyone else," Dave said looking around for his friend, finally spotting him dancing with JJ.

Dave walked over to where Aaron and JJ were dancing and whispered something in Aaron's ear. Aaron looked at him and nodded telling him silently that he would take care of all the details.

"Let's get out of here, shall we?" Dave told Penelope, as soon as he had walked back over to where he had left her.

"Yes, let's leave our guests to their fun, as I want some you and me time," Penelope said. "I doubt they'll miss us."

"And if they do they'll know where we are and what we're likely doing," Dave smirked. "It is our wedding night after all."

"That is, that it is," Penelope said, as she took Dave arm. The two looked around one last time, wanting to remember the details of this special day, before arm in arm they walked out of the hall nobody noticing their departure except for Aaron and JJ, who watched them go silently before they got back to dancing.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

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	8. Chapter 8

Part 7

Epilogue

"I can't believe you picked Greece as a destination," Penelope said, as she and Dave stood on the balcony that was part of the suite at their hotel. "I figured you would pick somewhere like Paris, or at least Venice both of which are common honeymoon destinations."

"Why should I pick somewhere that millions of people go because they are well known as honeymoon spots?" Dave inquired. "You ought to know by now that I never do what somebody expects me to. Besides, Greece is a very popular tourist destination, as they have millions of visitors every year among the various islands."

"I'm looking forward to exploring the island," Penelope said, as she and Dave stood as close as they could get, with Dave's arm around her waist.

Both of them took sips from the wine glasses they were holding and just gazed out at the gorgeous night sky, where the stars were actually visible, unlike back home with all the bright lights in the city.

"So are you ready to head back inside?" Dave asked solicitously.

"You actually mean am I ready for you fuck me senseless?" Penelope giggled, knowing exactly what her husband really meant.

"Well, yes, although I would never have put it so crudely," Dave admitted not looking the least bit contrite at being figured out so easily.

"That's because you were raised to be a gentleman and you took those lessons to heart," Penelope said. "While I on the other hand, was raised in a time, where women were just beginning to have more freedom to express themselves and it doesn't help that both my parents were hippies."

"True enough," Dave admitted.

"And to answer your question yes, I'm more than ready. After all, technically, we haven't made love in almost two days between the plane flight and us being separated the night before our wedding, which to me is just ridiculous, tradition or not," Penelope said.

"I agree with that," Dave snorted, "But Aaron and JJ were very persistent, saying it was bad luck if we saw each other 24 hours before the actual wedding."

"Yeah, it was just easier to give in and go along then continue to argue with them," Penelope sighed. "I'm not saying that JJ, Emily Alice and I didn't have fun, watching movies, eating popcorn that kind of thing, but I know I didn't enjoy myself half as much as I should have because I missed you too much."

"Yeah, I know Aaron, me and a couple of other buddies of mine had fun to, but still why they insisted that we have bachelor and bachelorette parties, even if it was the night before the wedding I have no clue," Dave said shaking his head in remembered aggravation.

"Probably, because we refused to have the two parties a few weeks ago when all of them suggested it. Both of us felt that we'd rather spend the time together then be separated for two different parties," Penelope said. "I didn't want to be separated from you for a party with only females."

"And I didn't want to be separated from you either for a party where you were absent and it was only males," Dave agreed. "I know it's tradition, but just because it is does not mean we have to go along with it."

"Which is why they probably came up with the other idea instead and railroaded us into going along," Penelope said.

"Yeah, they were extremely pushy about it," Dave snorted. "You're right that it was easier to give in then to continue to argue with them, since they were so damn determined to get their way."

"It's over now. Now it's just you and me and that big, beautiful bed in the other room," Penelope suggested silkily, heading back inside shedding clothes as she went. Dave watched her go and finished his last sip of his wine before he followed her back into their hotel suite, making sure to close and lock the balcony doors behind him.

Dave put his wineglass down on the table beside the bed and then shed himself of his clothes hurriedly.

"What took you so long," Penelope inquired with a wink from where she was already laying on her back, on the bed, with her legs spread wide waiting for her husband.

Dave had no reply to that, so he simply pounced on her.

"I love you so much Penelope Rossi," Dave told his wife quietly, as he began to make slow and gentle love to her.

"And I love you just as much, David Rossi," Penelope said feeling a little thrill at her new last name, as this was the first time she had heard it spoken out loud ever since the priest had announced them husband and wife.

Dave started making slow gentle love to the love of his life and Penelope participated quite enthusiastically, until evidently after several climaxes apiece both were exhausted and drifted off to sleep for a short nap wrapped around each other.

~~~Dave and Penelope~~~

Penelope stared at the little test strip that told her she was indeed pregnant and she knew she must be at least a two weeks along for the pregnancy test she had just taken never would have worked otherwise. She and Dave would have to have a doctor confirm it of course, but she was thrilled that she was indeed pregnant just like she and Dave had hoped. She and Dave had been on their honeymoon for only a week and a half so that meant that she had gotten pregnant at least a few days before she and Dave had wed, because you weren't supposed to be able to tell for at least a couple weeks, although she had heard that some women just knew they were pregnant, even after just 24 hours. Some of them of course, had nausea within just a few days, telling them they were indeed pregnant if they didn't have any other symptoms that would signify an illness of some sort. Others didn't know until they were a month or two along and started throwing up and yet others suspected they were, as they recognized the signs, not necessarily nausea, and took a pregnancy test.

Suddenly that was a knock on the door and Penelope realized that she had been here for sometime so Dave must be worried.

"Penny? Are you okay in there," Dave called sounding worried just as Penelope had suspected.

"I'm fine, I'll be out in a minute," Penelope called.

"Okay, I just wanted to tell you that breakfast is here," Dave said through the door.

"Fine, why don't you set it over by the sitting area and I'll be right there," Penelope said.

Penelope hurriedly began to get dressed making sure to not throw the strip away, as she wanted to show Dave as soon as possible. She knew very well that Dave would be ecstatic that she was indeed pregnant, although he had been sure that she was all along but he would be excited to have a confirmed.

"What took you so long?" Dave asked once Penelope had emerged from the bathroom. "I was beginning to get really worried."

"I'm really sorry I didn't mean to worry you," Penelope apologized. "This is the reason I was in the bathroom so long."

Penelope thrust the little strip at him and he took it looking at it uncomprehending for a few seconds and then he seemed to realize what it was and a smile lit his face. Actually, it wasn't just a smile it was a shit eating grin.

"You're pregnant?" Dave asked, as he swept his wife up into his arms.

"Yep," Penelope grinned. "I was pretty shocked when it came up positive, even though you're supposed to be able to get an answer after just two weeks, and it's been a little over that, but still I had a hard time believing that it actually worked, you know?"

"This means you got pregnant before we married, just like I suspected after you told me you stopped taking your birth control pills," Dave said, swinging her around happily.

"Put me down, you're making me queasy," Penelope gently told him and Dave did so immediately.

Dave looked at her like she was the greatest treasure in the entire universe and it made Penelope feel really special and loved.

"We'll have to have this confirmed by a doctor, you know," Dave said finally before he kissed her passionately.

"I was already thinking the same thing," Penelope said once the kiss had broken. "We can do that after we get home, as there's no point of worrying about it right this second. We might as well enjoy our honeymoon. I have a doctor back home that should be able to confirm that I am indeed pregnant and by then I should be over a month along."

"This is terrific news," Dave said looking so happy that Penelope kissed him passionately.

"Yes, it is terrific news and nobody except us and the doctor will ever know that I was actually pregnant a few days before we tied the knot. For all I know I got pregnant the first time we made love after I stopped taking those birth control pills, but it was more likely a couple of days after that. In any case, my doctor Maria Ellison, should be able to confirm that I am indeed pregnant, but then we'll like need to go to a specialist, as she's just a general practitioner. I'm sure she can recommend someone."

"Whatever it takes, so that this child is born healthy," Dave said. "Now, we had better eat, as our breakfast is getting cold."

"We can't have that," Penelope said, as she and Dave walked over to where their food was waiting arm in arm. Both were looking forward to having it confirmed that they were indeed expecting a baby, but until then the two of them would just enjoy this wonderful breakfast and the rest of their honeymoon. They would explore the sites, spend numerous hours making love and eat some of the best food in the world and buy a ton of souvenirs for their friends and family before they went home to San Francisco. Back to their lives, their friends and their soon to be expanded family, as neither had any doubt at all that the doctor would discover that they were indeed expecting and neither of them could be anymore excited at the news then they already were.

At the moment life wasn't just good it was terrific, as both of them had really wanted a child, a child that was an extension of the love they bore for each other and it looked like they were going to get their wish.

It looked like the fates or God or whoever controlled destiny was finally smiling on them for a change instead of trying to wreck their lives or at least make them miserable, since both of them had been deeply wounded emotionally in the past.

But now their lives were just perfect with the addition of a baby to their lives and the two of them were ecstatic about that.

It looked like they were finally well on their way to their happily ever after.


End file.
